Love Rocks NYC returned to New York, NY’s Beacon Theatre on Thursday for its seventh annual God’s Love We Deliver benefit concert featuring a star-studded cast of musicians including John Mayer Trio, James Taylor, Sheryl Crow, Mavis Staples, Jim James, St. Vincent, Gary Clark Jr., and many more.
With help from a parade of celebrity hosts including M.C. Bill Murray, Stephen Colbert, Phoebe Robinson, Gina Gerson, David Burtka and Neil Patrick Harris, and Chevy Chase (who offered up an impressive keyboard solo while introducing The War and Treaty), the loaded music lineup offered up highlight after memorable highlight over the course of more than four hours.
Jim James (My Morning Jacket) opened the proceedings on a high note with his own “State of the Union” and Elton John‘s “Rocket Man”, and Ivan Neville (Dumpstaphunk) followed with little love from his home city of New Orleans with a rousing rendition of The Meters‘ “Hey Pocky A-Way”.
Warren Haynes served up another memorable moment early in the show when he and Jimmy Vivino performed a poignant take on “Almost Cut My Hair” by the late David Crosby. As Haynes explained after the song, “The last time I saw Crosby we played that together on this stage. … It brings back a lot of memories.”
On the heels of International Women’s Day, the women on the lineup repeatedly stole the show dominated with hair-raising performances and thought-provoking messages. Whether it was Sheryl Crow welcoming St. Vincent to perform “Real Gone”, Ledisi channeling Nina Simone with an earth-shattering “Feeling Good”, Mavis Staples reigning from atop her gospel-soul throne, Allison Russell speaking out against ongoing LGBTQIA oppression in the South, or Pat Benatar burning a “Ring of Fire” (Johnny Cash) into “Heartbreaker” with Neil Giraldo, the rock and roll roar of Love Rocks NYC’s women echoed load and clear through the Beacon on Thursday night.
Among the biggest names on the Love Rocks NYC bill was beloved singer-songwriter James Taylor, who appeared late in the show following a Stephen Colbert intro that jokingly cast him as a vicious metal shredder. Taylor wielded and enchanting pull on the audience, telling stories about the origins of his cover hits as he went (two, including “Up On The Roof”, came from Carole King, while Marvin Gaye authored the classic “How Sweet It Is”). For his final number, James Taylor welcomed Sheryl Crow and guitarist Bernie Williams (of New York Yankees fame) to stools next to his own for another tune he famously borrowed from Carole King, “You’ve Got A Friend”.
Much like the reunion of Keith Richards and the X-Pensive Winos anchored the 2022 edition of Live Rocks NYC, the 2023 affair featured a rare appearance by another long-lost outfit featuring current Rolling Stones touring drummer Steve Jordan, the John Mayer Trio. Mayer, Jordan, and esteemed bassist Pino Palladino used their first official performance as a unit in six years to dust off three tunes that appear on their 2005 live album, Try!, including “Who Did You Think I Was?”, “Vultures”, and Jimi Hendrix‘s “Wait Until Tomorrow”.
As the clock ticked past 12:30 a.m., executive producers John Varvatos, Greg Williamson, and Nicole Rechter thanked the audience before welcoming back the full cast of musicians for an all-hands-on-deck rendition of Curtis Mayfield‘s “People Get Ready” in tribute to the late Jeff Beck.
Endless shoutouts, of course, to the amazing Love Rocks NYC house band featuring music director Will Lee, Michael Bearden, Larry Campbell, Steve Gadd, Eric Krasno, Pedrito Martinez, Shawn Pelton, Paul Shaffer, and more, as well as the God’s Love Singers and the We Deliver Horns. A blowout of this magnitude would not be possible without a band as mighty as this one.
Love Rocks NYC 2023 brought in more than $3 million in donations for God’s Love We Deliver, the New York nonprofit that cooks and delivers nutritious, medically tailored meals for people too sick to shop for themselves. Founded in 1985 as a response to the AIDS pandemic, the non-sectarian organization continues to serve a vital role in the NYC community: In 2022, with the help of thousands of volunteers, God’s Love home-delivered more than 3.2 million medically tailored meals to nearly 11,000 individuals living with more than 200 different diagnoses. To donate or learn more about how to get involved with God’s Love We Deliver, head here.
Click below to view the full setlist and a selection of videos from Love Rocks NYC 2023. Scroll down to the bottom of the page for a gallery of photos from the night via Getty Images.
Setlist: Love Rocks NYC (Various Artists) | Beacon Theatre | New York, NY | 3/9/23
Jim James “State of the Art”
Jim James “Rocket Man” (Elton John)
God’s Love We Deliver CEO David Ludwigson remarks
Ivan Neville “Hey Pocky A-Way” (The Meters)
John Mayer Trio – “Who Did You Think I Was?”, “Vultures” [Pro-Shot] – 3/9/23
[Video: Relix]
