The life and music of late musician and songwriter, Adam Schlesinger, will be honored at a concert filmed at New York’s Bowery Electric. Rolling Live, the streaming website, will debut the event, which was organized by Schlesinger’s Fountains of Wayne bandmate, Jody Porter.
“This is a proper musical send-off for my soul brother with a bunch of talented and groovy guests that would make Adam wince,” Porter said. Among the dozens of performers are Courtney Love, Sean Ono Lennon, the Monkees’ Mickey Dolenz, and the Smashing Pumpkins’ James Iha.
Tickets are available to purchase on the Rolling Live website, where the event will stream on May 5, 2021, at 8 PM Eastern Standard Time. Proceeds from the concert will go to The Bowery Electric.
Schlesinger died on April 1, 2020, at age 52, from complications due to COVID-19. He co-founded the indie-rock band Fountains of Wayne, and wrote their Grammy-nominated hit, “Stacy’s Mom.”
Schlesinger went on to have a prolific songwriting and producing career for music, television, theater, and film.
In 2019, Schlesinger won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics for cowriting the Crazy Ex-Girlfriend song “Antidepressants Are So Not A Big Deal.” (And he was previously nominated for my personal favorite, “Settle For Me.”)
The full list of Adam Schlesinger: A Music Celebration performers:
Mickey Dolenz (Monkees), Sean Ono Lennon, Courtney Love, Jody Porter and the Berlin Waltz, Chris Carrabba (Dashboard Confessional), James Iha (Tinted Windows/Smashing Pumpkins), Taylor Hanson (Tinted Windows/Hanson), Ben Lee, Ben Kweller, Butch Walker, Estzer Balint (Louie/Stranger Than Paradise), Patrick Carney (The Black Keys), Mike Viola, Matthew Caws (Nada Surf), Britta Phillips, Jesse Malin, Nicole Atkins, Peter Buck ( R.E.M.) with Scott McCaughey (The Minus 5), Joe McGinty, John Gallagher, Jr. (Spring Awakening), Robert Schwartzman (Rooney), Bambi Kino, Kelly Buchanan, Eddie Baranek (The Sights), Drew Carey, Eli Janney (Girls Against Boys) with Justin Pierre (Motions City Soundtrack) and Geoff Sanoff, Diane Gentile, John Brodeur (Birdstreets).
