A Unity for the Gulf concert at House of Blues (225 Decatur St.) Wednesday, April 20, aims to help Harmony for Health reach its goal of raising $750,000 to aid residents of the Gulf Coast who are suffering adverse health effects from the BP Gulf oil disaster a year ago.
Kevin Costner and Modern West kick off the evening’s musical offerings, followed by performances by Voice of the Wetlands featuring Tab Benoit and The All Star Band featuring Kenny Aronoff, Oliver Leiber, Aaron Hersey, Scott Page and Martin Guigui. Other performers include Big Chief Monk Boudreaux, Cyril Neville, Anders Osborne, Johnny Sansone, Waylon Thibodeaux and Johnny Vidacovich.
The concert begins at 8 p.m. and is among fundraising events held this week in Alabama and Louisiana to commemorate the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon on April 20, 2010, and the millions of barrels of oil that spilled into the Gulf of Mexico. General admission tickets are $50 and VIP tickets, which include access to the Foundation Room at House of Blues, are $1,000. VIP ticket holders will be admitted at 5:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at http://www.houseofblues.com.
The event also includes a screening of a trailer for the film The Big Fix, directed by Josh Tickell of GreenPlanet Productions and a launch of the website Counterspill.org featuring reporting, research, community engagement and social media vehicles aimed at spotlighting corporations that harm the public and the environment. Guest speakers include Sen. Robert Graham, co-chair of the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling, which ceased operations on March 11.
WWOZ radio will broadcast the event live and stream it globally online.
Tab Benoit 