Photos via Love Rocks [Dimitrios Kambouris]

Last night, March 6, Love Rocks returned to New York’s iconic Beacon Theatre for its ninth annual benefit concert. During the occasion of well-intentioned giving, musicians and comedians took turns taking the historic stage and enhancing the night’s musical output with a bevy of choice songs.

After opening remarks, Alicia Keys stepped out as the night’s initial musical guest. She paid tribute to Roberta Flack–who passed away on Feb. 24–with “Killing Me Softly with His Song,” she also used her time to nod to her native city on the aptly picked “Empire State of Mind.”

For Black Puma’s Eric Burton’s slot, he began with a timeless cover of “Sittin’ On The Dock of The Bay,” before performing his band’s own “Colors.” After Kate Hudson sang “Gonna Find Out,” Kingfish got up with Ivan Neville and Danny Clinch for a take on Jimi Hendrix’s “Red House.”

Comedian Bill Murray shared a poignant message during his performance of Stephen Stills’ “Love The One You’re With.” After a bit of changeover and remarks from the host, Jesse Malin continued his comeback beginning with “She Don’t Love Me Now,” before bringing Neville out for The Rolling Stones’ “Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker).” 

A tender moment arrived when event favorite Mavis Staples and Michael McDonald teamed up for “I’ll Take You There.” Staples left the stage prior to the start of “What a Food Believes.” McDonald continued with another great, “Takin’ It To The Streets” to cap his time. 

Peter Frampton served as the next guest, and began with “Georgia State of Mind” and later conjured “Do You Feed Like We Do,” before welcoming Trey Anastasio and Grace Bowers for an axe-led journey through “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.” Bowers stuck around and played Carlos Santana’s Soul Sacrifice. 

Later, Cher took the stage, evoking Elvis’s costume and character, supported by her song choice, “Walking in Memphis,” which she had done in her 1999 released single and subsequent music video. She followed with “Song for the Lonely” and “Believe” to the thrill of the crowd. Beck covered Prince’s “1999” next, before his own, “Loser.”

For Trey Anastasio’s time, he began with “Everything’s Right,” before bringing out Luke Spiller, for “Good Times Bad Times.” In the traditional Love Rocks style, all participants returned to the stage for the final song, a sing-a-long of “Higher Ground.”

Love Rocks is executive produced by John Varvatos, Greg Williamson, and Nicole Rechter. Proceeds will benefit God’s Love We Deliver, which will celebrate 40 years of preparing and providing medically tailored meals for NYC residents with serious illnesses in 2025. 

Since its debut, Love Rocks has raised $50 million for the organization and helped to fund 5 million meals; this year, funds will be shared with the nonprofit’s Food is Medicine Coalition peer organization Project Angel Food in LA. 

The ninth annual Love Rocks NYC concert supported God’s Love We Deliver, and our Food is Medicine Coalition peer organization Project Angel Food in Los Angeles as a response to the devastating wildfires in the area. We send love and strength to all those affected.