A Magical Musical Night in L.A. plus the scoop on this week’s broadcast/podcast:

By Helen ~ February 15, 2012

This week eTown welcomes back some old friends, the nationally renowned band Big Head Todd and the Monsters. Nick and I have known these talented guys since they were just getting started, and it’s been so great to watch their meteoric rise to the top. Since the band got its start more than 20 years ago they’ve had a platinum record, done movie soundtracks, played live for astronauts on the space station and toured the world. They bring songs from two recent CDs: 100 Years of Robert Johnson and Rocksteady to share with us. And newcomer Nicole Atkins provides some of her original songs (backed up by Nick and the rest of us eTones). She’s got a great set of pipes, a big voiced gal for one so petite (see the videos below). She lives in Brooklyn, and it turns out she friends with our daughter Erika there (whose band is Au Revoir Smone, whom you’ve heard on eTown in the past). Small world! It’s a rocking’ show, with a moving E-Chievement Award story as well, so be sure to join us.

Recently, Nick and I had the pleasure of attending the annual fundraiser put on by the very worthy organization called MusiCares. The event was a tribute to Paul McCartney, and it was a truly amazing evening. Sir Paul was there himself, and he performed several songs throughout the evening. He sounds and looks fantastic by the way! And he seems so energetic and happy, I can’t help but attribute that, at least in part, to finding his new bride, someone for whom he obviously has so much love and respect; he sang a song that night that he’d written for her that was just so heartfelt and beautiful (a bit of eTown trivia: Nick and I had the honor of meeting Linda McCartney many years ago, and we’d been talking with her publicist about having her on eTown to talk about her work as an animal rights supporter and her vegan activism, but it was not to be; sadly, her illness was announced shortly after, and the world eventually lost an amazing woman). So very glad to see that Sir Paul has finally found true love once again.

The rest of the evening was filled with numerous musical artists, each one performing one of his songs: people like James Taylor, Alicia Keys, Foo Fighters, Tony Bennett, Diana Krall, Katy Perry, Alison Krauss and Union Station with Jerry Douglas, Norah Jones, Coldplay, Neil Young (the list goes on: go to MusiCares website to see the full list). And we saw several familiar faces in the crowd – James T. stopped by our table to say hello, as did David Crosby, Allison Kraus and others – it was lovely to connect with so many old friends. Close to three thousand people attended the formal event, enjoying a gourmet sit down dinner (vegan in honor of Sir Paul) as well as mind-blowingly incredible musical performances. It was just a stunning evening; I’m so humbled and grateful to have been able to attend.

The work the organization does is crucial stuff indeed. They provide support to musicians in need (so many musicians live close to the bone and most are uninsured or underinsured; such is the fate of artists in this society), whether it’s to help pay for much needed medical care for illness, injury or rehab, or to provide support during recovery from surgery or through loss due to natural disasters or from falling on hard financial times. Again, please take the time to visit their website and learn more.

Now its back to work here at eTown, making shows for all of you to enjoy and hopefully to learn from as well. Check out the videos below from this week’s broadcast/podcast, enjoy the show, and let’s talk soon!

Best,

Helen