The list of artists who will be saluting Patti Smith in New York next month just grew longer.
The Pretenders’ Chrissie Hynde, director Jim Jarmusch, former Bangles frontperson Susanna Hoffs, Irish singer-songwriter Glen Hansard and New York rocker Jesse Malin have been added to an already eclectic list of singers and musicians partaking in “People Have the Power: Celebrating the Music of Patti Smith” at Carnegie Hall on March 26th.
The concert, timed to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Smith’s classic Horses album, was first announced last November. The initial list of participants, spanning alt rock, classical and current indie, included Michael Stipe, Sharon Van Etten, Matt Berninger of the National, Karen O, Kim Gordon, Ben Harper, Courtney Barnett, the Kronos Quartet, Angel Olsen, and the Kills’ Alison Mosshart.
The house band has also been expanded: former Heartbreakers keyboardist Benmont Tech and guitarist Charlie Sexton will now be joining Flea, Smith’s bassist-keyboardist Tony Shanahan, and drummer Steve Jordan to back all the singers. Jarmusch will be reading from some of Smith’s writings and poetry.
Produced by Michael Dorf Presents, the concert also marks the 20th edition of City Winery founder Dorf’s “The Music of …” series of music-education benefit shows. Past honorees have included Paul McCartney, Joni Mitchell, Bruce Springsteen, Led Zeppelin, R.E.M., David Bowie, and Prince.
Smith herself hasn’t released an album of new material since 2012’s Banga but has been active with books, poetry and other outside-music endeavors. Her latest project, “Correspondences,” is a video installation collaboration with Stephan Crasneanscki, whose Soundwalk Collective compiles sound recordings from around the planet. Among its short films are ones devoted to the resilience of nature after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster and, most timely, a history of wildfires over the last 70 years. Currently at the Kurimanzutto Gallery in New York through Feb. 22, the exhibition features Smith’s voice: reciting lyrics over ambient music by Soundwalk Collective.
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