Look To The Stars News: Emmylou Harris

Clint Eastwood Features On Star-Studded CD For Mark Twain Museum

Tue, 15 Nov 2011 13:05:00 +0000

Mark Twain might best be remembered for his writings about life on the Mississippi River, featuring his most famous character Huck Finn. When Twain died over 100 years ago, he probably never would have imagined some of the world’s most renowned actors, musicians, authors and entertainers would come together to celebrate his life.

That celebration resulted in a new double-CD set that is burning up the charts and is particularly unique for bringing together personalities like best-selling author and rock star Jimmy Buffett; nine-time Grammy winner Sheryl Crow; multiple Academy Award-winning film director and star Clint Eastwood; best-selling author and radio host Garrison Keillor; and a Who’s Who of Country and Bluegrass music legends including Vince Gill, Brad Paisley, Carl Jackson, Ricky Skaggs, Emmylou Harris, Joe Diffie and more.

Dr. Cindy Lovell, Executive Director of the Mark Twain Boyhood Home & Museum, originally conceived the idea. Her childhood friend, Carl Jackson, is a Grammy-winning producer, singer, and songwriter. After hearing his 2003 Grammy-winning star-studded project honoring country music legends the Louvin Brothers, she approached him about producing a similar project honoring the 100-year passing of Twain and benefiting the home and museum. Once Carl said yes, she got backstage at a Jimmy Buffett concert where she approached him about participating in the project. Buffett has made a career of writing and singing about life on the water and is a huge Twain fan. He not only agreed to participate, but also made the decision to release the final project on his own label, Mailboat Records. He even came on board as the voice of Huck Finn, Twain’s most beloved character. The final project resulted in Mark Twain: Words & Music, a double-CD with a 40-page booklet of liner notes. It was written and produced to benefit the Mark Twain Boyhood Home & Museum and tells Twain’s life from comet to comet in spoken word and song. The CD includes a mixture of narration, Twain’s dialogue, and Huck’s voice along with a combination of old music and new songs written specifically for this project.

Vince Gill And Sheryl Crow For Country Music Fundraiser

Mon, 12 Sep 2011 11:30:00 +0000

The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s All for the Hall fundraiser will return to Los Angeles for a third consecutive year.

The event, which will take place on Tuesday, September 13, at Club Nokia, will again follow a “guitar pull” format featuring performances by Country Music Hall of Fame member Vince Gill, and Sheryl Crow and Zac Brown.

Celebrity Guitar Picks Auctioned For Charity

Thu, 09 Jun 2011 12:00:00 +0000

A group of musicians have donated their guitar plectrums to a very special celebrity charity auction.

The auction includes guitar picks donated by stars such as Mark Ronson, Paul Weller, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood, Depeche Mode, Coldplay, Duran Duran, Emmylou Harris, James Blunt, Dave Stewart, Paramore, Jamie Cullum, Razorlight and many more.

The auction will benefit two very important charities – Trekstock, which supports young people with cancer, and LIFEbeat, which educates young people about HIV/AIDS prevention.

Nashville Stars Donate Clothes To Animal Charity

Thu, 24 Mar 2011 14:00:00 +0000

Nashville has a new star by the name of Lori Elam, a remarkable woman inspired by the loss of her pets to open a new consignment shop that sells clothing donated by country music artists and celebrities in efforts to raise money for animal rescue efforts.

“When I lost those two [pets], I met this world of people who are out there saving animals. They educated me on how animals were being treated and being euthanized, and it was a whole other culture that I was not aware of,” Elam told the Tennessean.

Elam’s celebrity consignment shop Estrella will open in May on 12South Avenue.

Neil Young Gathers Rock Legends For Benefit Concert

Mon, 25 Oct 2010 11:20:00 +0000

Neil Young’s annual Bridge School Benefit saw the likes of Pearl Jam, Billy Idol and Elvis Costello come out to perform over the weekend.

The Bridge School Benefit is an annual non-profit charity concert held in Mountain View, California every October at the Shoreline Amphitheatre. The concerts are all organized by musician Neil Young and his wife, Pegi, and benefit The Bridge School, an innovative organization educating children with severe speech and physical impairments.

Saturday’s lineup included Buffalo Springfield, Pearl Jam, Elvis Costello, Merle Haggard and Kris Kristofferson, Lucinda Williams, Steve Stevens, Billy Idol, Jackson Browne and David Lindley, Modest Mouse, Emmylou Harris and Grizzly Bear.

Sarah McLachlan Celebrates Lilith Fair Charity Total

Wed, 25 Aug 2010 13:00:00 +0000

Lilith Fair 2010 has wrapped up its North American tour, raising a massive $500,000 for charity.

The all-women concert tour established by Sarah McLachlan and featuring Mary J. Blige, Emmylou Harris and Miranda Lambert finished its 23-city tour and now has its sights set on Australia.

“I have a moral and social responsibility as a human being to give back what I can,” said Sarah. “Lilith 2010 was an amazing experience for me on so many levels. It felt so great to be back out on the road and sharing the stage with so many talented women. For me, Lilith has always represented a sense of community, and that’s the greatest thing I take away from these shows. To be able to create an environment where both established artists and up-and-comers can join together, learn from one another and feed off each other’s energy is such a great gift.”

Sarah McLachlan Presents Lilith Fair Money To Charity

Wed, 14 Jul 2010 15:30:00 +0000

The Downtown Women’s Center (DWC), a non-profit that provides permanent housing and supportive services for homeless women on LA’s Skid Row, was selected by Lilith Fair founder Sarah McLachlan as the local charity for the music festival’s Los Angeles area stop.

At a press conference before the July 10th concert at Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre, McLachlan and a number of the other female performers presented DWC with a check for $9,000.

Female Stars Line Up For Charity On Lilith Fair Tour

Thu, 15 Apr 2010 15:00:00 +0000

Sarah McLachlan’s Lilith Fair concert tour has been finalized, with artists such as Selena Gomez, Rihanna, Sheryl Crow, Erykah Badu, Kelly Clarkson and Missy Higgins joining the bill at selected shows.

The tour will raise funds for women’s charities in each city it visits, and organizers have launched Choose Your Charity on Facebook to help decide the beneficiaries. According to the organizers: "By becoming a fan of the Lilith Facebook page, users can participate in the Lilith-Involver Choose Your Charity campaign, where they’ll have the chance to vote on the pre-selected local women’s charities in their cities.

“The first round of voting goes until 11:59 PM PST on Monday, May 3, 2010. At that time, the top five charities from each city will move on to a second round of voting beginning at 10:00 AM PST on Tuesday, May 4, 2010 and ending at 11:59 PM PST on May 31, 2010. The Lilith founders—Sarah McLachlan, Terry McBride, Dan Fraser and Marty Diamond—will hand pick the local charity winners from the top three charities with the most votes in each city. The 2010 Lilith Tour promises to donate $1 from every ticket sold in a particular city to its chosen local charity, and Sarah McLachlan will personally present a check for the amount raised to charity representatives in each city.”

Walk With Oprah And Friends For 10 Charities

Fri, 26 Mar 2010 15:30:00 +0000

O, The Oprah Magazine will celebrate its 10th anniversary in New York City from May 7-9, and registration for the Live Your Best Life Walk on Sunday, May 9 is now open.

Oprah Winfrey and special guests will lead a walk to raise money for 10 charities, selected by the editors of O, The Oprah Magazine. The top 10 fundraisers will walk alongside Oprah, and a celebration at the finish line for all participants will close the weekend’s festivities.

The walk takes place on the final day of the weekend-long celebration, and is open to all who want to take part and give back. A limited number of tickets are still available for the Live Your Best Life Weekend event at oprah.com/oturns10, but even non-ticket holders can participate as well.

Stars Added To MusiCares Person Of The Year Charity Event

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 15:00:00 +0000

Ben Harper and Lucinda Williams have been added to the all-star lineup for the 2010 MusiCares Person of the Year tribute to Neil Young on Jan. 29 in Los Angeles.

They join other performers Jack Black, Jackson Browne, T Bone Burnett, Crosby, Stills and Nash, Sheryl Crow, Everest, Patty Griffin, Josh Groban, Emmylou Harris, Elton John, Norah Jones, Lady Antebellum, KD Lang, Dave Matthews, John Mellencamp, Ozomatli, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Leon Russell, James Taylor and Wilco. The dinner co-chairs are Warner Bros. Records Chairman Emeritus Mo Ostin, Lookout Management President and Founder Elliot Roberts, and Warner Bros. Records Chairman/CEO Tom Whalley. Two-time GRAMMY-winning producer Don Was will be the evening’s musical director.

Neil Young’s philanthropic work is as renowned as his musical legacy. He was one of the original founders of Farm Aid in 1985, and continues to be an active member on the organization’s board of directors. Each October, he and his wife Pegi organize and host the Bridge School Concerts, a benefit for the Bridge School that he and Pegi helped found. The school ensures that children with severe speech and physical impairments achieve full participation in their communities through the use of assistive technology and the development, implementation and dissemination of innovative educational strategies. These weekend concerts have drawn an international array of musical artists and have raised significant resources for the school.

Springsteen, Mellencamp, Harper To Perform at Clearwater Concert

Fri, 01 May 2009 14:30:00 +0000

This Sunday, May 3rd, will see star performers such as Ben Harper, Dave Matthews, Juanes, John Mellencamp and Bruce Springsteen come out to support Pete Seeger’s 90th birthday bash benefitting the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater.

The Clearwater Concert: Creating the Next Generation of Environmental Leaders is a one night only concert, which raises awareness and funds for continuing Clearwater’s work educating the public and protecting the Hudson river. The event begins at 7pm, at Madison Square Garden, and will feature over 40 artists from a wide variety of musical genres.

Some of the scheduled performers are Joan Baez, Ani DiFranco, Michael Franti, Emmylou Harris, Tao Rodriguez–Seeger, Taj Mahal, Bela Fleck, Keller Williams Billy Bragg, Tom Morello, Tom Paxton and Eddie Vedder.

Bruce Springsteen To Headline Pete Seeger's Charity Birthday Concert

Thu, 19 Mar 2009 15:30:00 +0000

Bruce Springsteen, Eddie Vedder, Steve Earle, Ben Harper, Tom Morrello and Billy Bragg have been confirmed to perform at Pete Seeger’s 90th birthday gig in May, with proceeds going to charity.

Also set to perform at the gig at Madison Square Garden on May 3 are Dave Matthews, John Mellencamp, Emmylou Harris, Joan Baez, Kris Kristofferson and many more. The show is set to benefit the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater , a non-profit organisation created to defend and restore the Hudson River.

From the charity’s website: "Clearwater is a 106-foot wooden sailing sloop designed after 18th and 19th century Dutch sailing sloops. In 1966, folk singer and activist Pete Seeger had the vision that the public would come to care for all of our threatened waterways by learning to care for one boat and one river. He inspired a group of dedicated people who made the dream a reality. Launched in 1969, Clearwater serves as a moveable classroom, laboratory, stage, and forum. More than a dozen national and international programs have successfully modeled programs after those pioneered by Clearwater.

Emmylou Harris Wants You To Unchain Your Dog

Thu, 18 Dec 2008 12:00:00 +0000

Country music legend Emmylou Harris has recorded a new radio PSA for PETA encouraging people to unchain their dogs this Holiday season.

The 61-year-old – who founded her own animal shelter – is raising awareness of the mistreatment of dogs and is encouraging people to bring them indoors and let them be part of the family.

“Keeping a dog on a chain or in a pen is about the worst thing a person could ever do to them,” she says in the message. “It goes against everything a dog is – social, a pack animal, eager to please. Chaining a dog hurts its body and its mind. It’s actually a form of animal abuse.”

Lint Roller Party Picks Up Big Names

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 13:38:00 +0000

An impressive list of stars will be turning into party animals at the newly restored Hollywood Palladium on Thursday, November 13th, for the 15th annual Lint Roller Party.

Lisa Edelstein along with Eric and Tania Idle are Honorary Co-Chairs for the night, which supports the Best Friends Animal Society. The party’s honorary committee includes animal lovers such as Adrian Grenier, Charlize Theron, Nicollette Sheridan, Bill Maher, Dan Aykroyd and Willie Nelson, to name but a few.

The event raises funds for the Society’s programs in LA, which improve and save the lives of animals, including: A Puppy-Store-Free LA, Pet Adoption Festivals, Date with a Dog, Indie Rescue, Catnippers, Best Friends Brigade, Pup My Ride Transport Program.

A Chance To Meet Forest Whitaker

Mon, 08 Sep 2008 14:30:00 +0000

Fans of Forest Whitaker take note: here is your chance to join the award winning actor on the set of his new movie and maybe even sit down to a bite to eat with the man himself and his daughter.

This once-in-a-lifetime opportunity is being auctioned by Farm Sanctuary, an organization that works to end cruelty to farm animals and promotes compassionate living through rescue, education and advocacy. Founded in 1986 to combat the abuses of factory farming and to encourage a new awareness and understanding about farm animals, Farm Sanctuary now runs several sanctuaries in the US to house rescued animals.

Whitaker and his young daughter, True, are known for their ongoing support of Farm Sanctuary, and True Whitaker was Farm Sanctuary’s first Child Chair at the 2007 Gala in Beverly Hills – sharing the spotlight with other supporters such as Ellen DeGeneres and David Duchovny. Forest and True also recorded a PSA for PETA together.