Food for Love has announced a star-studded lineup for its upcoming livestream concert featuring performances from David Byrne, Kurt Vile, Nathaniel Rateliff, Jackson Browne, and many more. The virtual concert, set for February 13th at 7 p.m. ET, aims to end hunger in New Mexico.
The full lineup for the Food for Love livestream also hosts Charlie Sexton, James McMurty, Lyle Lovett, Mickey Hart & Steven Feld, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Robert Earl Keen, Steve Earle, The Chicks, and many more. The evening will see non-musical appearances from author George R. R. Martin, former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, current Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, and other notable figures.
Food for Love organizers noted that 100% of all donations raised during the livestream will go to feed the hungry. Viewers can provide up to four meals with every dollar donated. While the COVID-19 pandemic ravages the country, New Mexico has remained one of the places hardest hit as the state also grapples with record unemployment. Currently, one in three children and one in five adults in the state of New Mexico struggle with hunger.
Byrne recently discussed the upcoming benefit with the release of his monthly playlist. The former Talking Heads frontman wrote,
February 13th (Valentines Day Eve), some musician friends of mine, and many I’ve never met, are doing a virtual concert to raise money for meals for New Mexico’s hardest hit. New Mexico ranks almost at the bottom in poverty (49th) in the US, and the Navaho and other Native American lands have long been shorted basic health, jobs and education services- so the impact of Covid on these folks has been devastating.
How in the world are they going to fit all these folks into one show? We’ll see.
Now for some folks my connection to these musicians might seem a little odd – we don’t exactly make the same kind of music – but I sense there exists some mutual appreciation. It’s certainly there from my end… I met Terry Allen, the artist and musician who helped put this together, in the mid eighties when I was making the True Stories movie. I love his music (and artwork). Terry often works within this vaguely country/Americana musical style, but he’s definitely on the artier end of the spectrum. Through him, I soon got to know fellow Lubbock alumni The Flatlanders – Joe Ely, Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Butch Hancock. All great songwriters. Terry sent me a cassette with Steve Earle’s song “Billy Austin”, and eventually Earle and his then wife ended up singing on my Here Lies Love score. Alejandro Escovedo was in a punk band The Nuns, and Joe Strummer of the Clash and Joe Ely were close friends. A lot of boundaries get crossed with this crowd. So my being part of this is maybe not as surprising as folks might think.
For this month, Byrne compiled a playlist consisting of artists featured on the Food for Love livestream. Stream the playlist on his website and tune into the Food for Live livestream on February 13th at 7 p.m. ET below. Scroll down to see the full lineup.
Food For Love Concert & Fundraiser
[Video: Food for Love]
[H/T Brooklyn Vegan]