Sweet Relief to Honor Joan Baez with Benefit Concert Featuring Hozier, Emmylou Harris, Bonnie Raitt, Taj Mahal and More
“Joan Baez at The Egg (Albany, NY), March 2016” by Jtgphoto is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Sweet Relief have announced a new benefit concert honoring the great Joan Baez at San Francisco’s historic Masonic Auditorium on Feb. 8. As she looks back on a storied career spanning six and a half decades, the legendary artist and activist has truly earned the tremendous acclaim she receives, and “A Night to Honor Joan Baez” will underscore that renown with an all-star ensemble. The event will also stand as a celebration of Sweet Relief’s 30th anniversary, and all proceeds from the evening will go to advance the organization’s vital mission of supporting musicians in crisis.
The 10 artists on the bill so far span a variety of genres and generations, testifying to Baez’s far-reaching influence. Beyond performances from Baez, who retired from touring in 2019, the program will unite new stars like Hozier and Margo Price alongside longtime favorites like Bonnie Raitt, Lucinda Williams and Emmylou Harris, who shared, “So happy to be a part of celebrating my dear friend Joan Baez!” The bill is completed by further icons like Taj Mahal, Tom Morello, Joe Henry, who has signed on as musical director, Ramblin’ Jack Elliot, the honoree at the previous Sweet Relief benefit, and Rosanne Cash, who was just announced as the artist-at-large for FreshGrass | Bentonville 2025.
This brilliant lineup will be backed by a stacked house band, comprising Henry, Jason Crosby, Greg Leisz, Gabe Harris and David Piltch. “Joan Baez is a mountain on our landscape, and has been for the entirety of my lifetime,” Henry stated in a release. “As much as any artist I know, she has dismantled the wall between public artistry and personal conviction—investing each with the other, to create a body of work that, in the words of Woody Guthrie, ‘comforts the disturbed and disturbs the comfortable,’
““What a singular honor, then, for all us to gather in honor of her—and to benefit the heroic organization Sweet Relief, that provides financial assistance to musicians in health crisis,” the artist continued. “Come February 8th at San Francisco’s historic Masonic Auditorium—in her name, and in these wicked times— we will raise our voices as Joan has.”
Tickets for Sweet Relief’s “A Night to Honor Joan Baez” will be available this Friday, Dec. 20. For more information on Sweet Relief and how you can contribute to the organization’s commitment to artists, visit sweetrelief.org.
