As every Elliott Smith’s fan already knows, four benefit concerts have been scheduled in August in four different cities to commemorate the 10-year anniversary of his tragic death. The four-city celebration will actually take place around Elliott’s birthday (August 6th) in Portland, Los Angeles, Austin, and New York and will benefit different charities: Outside In, Free Arts for Abused Children, SIMS Foundation, and New Alternatives for LBGT Homeless Youth.
Different guests have already been announced such as Gus Van Sant and members of Grandaddy for the Portland show on August 4th, Jody Denberg, members of Grandaddy, Lil’ Cap’n Travis, David Garza for the one in Austin on August 9th, and Rhett Miller, Chris Thile, Mary Lou Lord for the one in New York City on August 10th. Los Angeles’ show at Largo on August 6th is the more mysterious one, as organizer Jon Brion and club owner Mark Flanagan want it to remain a surprise according to No Name#1, a Facebook/Twitter account, which is promoting the concerts.
But on Wednesday, another concert was announced in London. According to The line of best fit, the concert will be held on October 21st (the day Elliott died), and if two live acts are already confirmed for the show (Sweetheart Contract and All American Girl), they are trying to reach out high profile bands which would be interested to participate. Any band willing to play can contact the Twitter account @PsychoMafia.
It is interesting that this series of benefit concerts is spreading over seas, may be it is the beginning of more of these events, as Elliott Smith’s music becomes more and more influential? I was just reading an interview of the band DIIV on Pitchfork, and frontman Zachary Cole Smith said Elliott Smith was a huge influence on their second record. His name is actually a recurrent one in numerous bands’ bios, whatever they are unknown or ultra-famous, and if there were any logic into this, high profile bands would participate into these benefit concerts.
One last thing, limited edition t-shirts, featuring Autumn De Wilde’s photography, will be sold at these US shows. A must have, obviously!