Sandy relief concert scheduled at Paramount
My Morning Jacket, Preservation Hall Jazz Band to headline
In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, relief efforts have cropped up around the region and the country. And on Jan. 2, Asbury Park will host its own musical relief event — On the Beach: A Sandy Relief Concert.
The event will be held on Jan. 2, 2013, at the Paramount Theatre. Tickets go on sale Friday, Dec. 14, at noon, for $25 to $60. Tim Donnelly, Tony Pallagrosi and Danny Clinch are organizing the event.
“We had to,” Donnelly said. “If not us, then who?”
My Morning Jacket and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band will headline, and Joseph Arthur, Nicole Atkins, River City Extension, the Tangiers Blues Band and special guests will perform.
Donnelly and Clinch were in New Orleans when Sandy hit on Oct. 29. They were stranded there for about a week because of airline issues stemming from the storm, Donnelly said.
“It was bizarre,” he said. “My parents didn’t have power but they had their cell phones. They were in Silverton, Toms River, and I was in New Orleans watching CNN and telling them what was happening because they didn’t know.”
When Donnelly saw that Anderson Cooper was reporting from Asbury Park, he knew things were serious.
“He’s always in the worst place in the world,” Donnelly said. “So I’m freaking out.”
Donnelly told his parents to leave Silverton. In the end, all their vehicles were destroyed and they had to be rescued. Their whole neighborhood was ruined, except for their house, Donnelly said.
He and the other organizers decided they needed to arrange a relief concert in Asbury. In addition to the confirmed acts, more bands might sign on in the weeks before the show.
“We kind of need a morale boost,” Donnelly said, “especially for the volunteers.”
Donnelly saw that My Morning Jacket would be in Boston on New Year’s Eve, and that Preservation Hall Jazz Band would be in New York. He realized a trip to Asbury the day after New Year’s wouldn’t be hard for them to handle. He reached out to the bands, and they agreed to come on Jan. 2 for a relief concert.
My Morning Jacket has not played Asbury Park in 10 years, Donnelly said.
“It just so happened that our friends happened to be in the same corner of the world [on Jan. 2] and managed to make this happen,” Donnelly said.
The show will benefit Coastal Habitat for Humanity, Waves for Water, the FoodBank of Monmouth and Ocean Counties, Food for Thought by the Sea and Rebuild Recover.
Pallagrosi is a long-time concert promoter in the area and was once a horn player in Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes. Clinch is known for his photography of various musicians including Bruce Springsteen, and is a musician and filmmaker. Aside from his work in concert producing, Donnelly is also a freelance music writer and documentary film producer.
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[Above photo of My Morning Jacket and Preservation Hall Jazz Band by Danny Clinch.]