Santa Monica, CA. (Top40 Charts/ Recording Academy) - Performances by current multiple GRAMMY nominee Adele, two-time GRAMMY nominee Eric Benet, two-time GRAMMY winner and current GRAMMY nominee Terence Blanchard, four-time GRAMMY winners and current seven-time GRAMMY nominees Coldplay, six-time GRAMMY-winning Foo Fighters, current GRAMMY nominee Josh Groban, five-time GRAMMY winner Faith Hill, current multiple GRAMMY nominee Jennifer Hudson, current GRAMMY nominees Jonas Brothers, current two-time GRAMMY nominee Kid Rock, GRAMMY winner Raul Malo, three-time GRAMMY winner Tim McGraw, five-time GRAMMY winner Randy Newman, Urge Overkill, and GRAMMY winner and current GRAMMY nominee
Cassandra Wilson and more. Comedian and television personality Jimmy Kimmel will be the evening's host. Also featured will be a special concert performance by GRAMMY winner and 2009 MusiCares Person of the Year Neil Diamond.
Attendees will include President/CEO of MusiCares� and The Recording Academy Neil Portnow, and MusiCares Foundation Board Chair John Branca, who also serve as dinner chairs. The other dinner chairs are Irving Azoff, Marshall Gelfand and Tim Leiweke, with six-time GRAMMY winner Rick Rubin serving as honorary chair. A host of celebrities, along with prominent music industry and entertainment executives, are also scheduled to attend. Past MusiCares Person of the Year honorees are Tony Bennett, Bono, Natalie Cole, Phil Collins, David Crosby, Gloria Estefan, Aretha Franklin, Don Henley, Billy Joel, Elton John, Quincy Jones, Luciano Pavarotti, Bonnie Raitt, Paul Simon, Sting, James Taylor, Brian Wilson, and Stevie Wonder.
WHAT: GRAMMY-winning recording artist Neil Diamond will be honored as the 2009 MusiCares Person of the Year at a special event celebrating his exceptional artistic achievements as well as his philanthropic work, which has included many generous charitable donations over the years. Most recently, Diamond has been making significant contributions to the hurricane relief efforts in Texas for areas ravaged by Hurricane Ike.
AUCTION & RECEPTION: The 2009 MusiCares Person of the Year gala will begin with a special reception and silent auction sponsored by Red Stripe Plane Music that will offer an exclusive and unparalleled selection of luxury items, VIP experiences and one-of-a-kind celebrity memorabilia for bidding guests. The reception will also include a special live online auction presented by Julien's Auctions that will be broadcast live worldwide on Auction Network with real-time interactive bidding technology. The auction will feature the music memorabilia collection from the estate of the late music publisher Andy Budde, as well as Neil Diamond's personal 1956 Ford Thunderbird. The Budde collection includes such items as an Eric Clapton-signed guitar, a Bob Dylan-signed harmonica and a Janis Joplin-signed photograph and more.
GALA: The auction will be followed by a gala dinner, an award presentation and a star-studded tribute concert co-sponsored by AEG and multi-GRAMMY Award winning engineer Elliot Scheiner's company ELS Surround. The MusiCares Person of the Year tribute is one of the most prestigious events held during GRAMMY Week. The celebration culminates with the 51st Annual GRAMMY Awards on Sunday, Feb. 8 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles. The telecast will be broadcast live on the CBS Television Network at 8 p.m. ET/PT. For information on purchasing tables and tickets to the event, please contact Dana Tomarken at MusiCares at 310.392.3777.
WHY: Proceeds from the annual Person of the Year tribute - now in its 19th year - provide essential support for MusiCares, which ensures that music people have a place to turn in times of financial, medical and personal need. MusiCares offers programs and services to members of the music community including emergency financial assistance for basic living expenses including rent, utilities and car payments; medical expenses including doctor, dentist and hospital bills; psychotherapy; and treatment for HIV/AIDS, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, hepatitis C and other critical illnesses. MusiCares offers nationwide educational workshops covering a variety of subjects, including financial, legal, medical and substance abuse issues, and programs in collaboration with healthcare professionals that provide services such as flu shots, hearing tests and medical/dental screenings. The MusiCares MAP Fund� allows access to addiction recovery treatment and sober living resources for members of the music community regardless of their financial circumstances.
WHY: Staffed by qualified chemical dependency and intervention specialists, MusiCares Safe Harbor Rooms offer a support network to those in recovery while they are participating in the production of televised music shows and other major music events. MusiCares holds weekly addiction support groups for people to discuss how to best cope with the issues surrounding the recovery process. The MusiCares Sober Touring Network is a database of individuals across the United States who can take music people to recovery support meetings while on the road. For more information, please visit www.musicares.com.
WHERE: Los Angeles Convention Center, West Hall
1201 S. Figueroa St.
Los Angeles, CA 90015
Parking: West Hall lot off Cherry Street; cost: $12 (no valet available)
WHEN: Friday, Feb. 6, 2009
5 p.m. Media Check-in (at Gilbert Lindsay Plaza)
5:30 p.m. Red Carpet Arrivals, Cocktail Reception and Live and Silent Auction
8 p.m. Gala Dinner
9 p.m. Award Tribute & Concert
MEDIA R.S.V.P. MANDATORY: [email protected]
IMPORTANT INFORMATION: If you are interested in covering this event, you MUST request credentials no later than Friday, Jan. 30. Credentials will be picked up at media check-in on the day of the event. All crews must be self-contained, ENG crews. All satellite truck/van parking must be coordinated with Eileen Thompson no later than Wednesday, Feb. 4. ALL MEDIA MUST BE CREDENTIALED for this event.
Established in 1989 by The Recording Academy, MusiCares provides a safety net of critical assistance for music people in times of need. MusiCares' services and resources cover a wide range of financial, medical and personal emergencies, and each case is treated with integrity and confidentiality. MusiCares also focuses the resources and attention of the music industry on human service issues that directly impact the health and welfare of the music community. For more information, please visit www.musicares.com.
Established in 1957, The Recording Academy is an organization of musicians, producers, engineers and recording professionals that is dedicated to improving the cultural condition and quality of life for music and its makers. Internationally known for the GRAMMY Awards - the preeminent peer-recognized award for musical excellence and the most credible brand in music - The Recording Academy is responsible for groundbreaking professional development, cultural enrichment, advocacy, education and human services programs. In its 50th year, The Academy continues to focus on its mission of recognizing musical excellence, advocating for the well-being of music makers and ensuring music remains an indelible part of our culture. For more information about The Academy, please visit www.grammy.com.
With expertise specializing in entertainment memorabilia, Julien's Auctions has quickly established themselves as the premier auction house in high-profile celebrity and entertainment auctions. Julien's Auctions presents exciting, professionally managed and extremely successful auctions with full-color, high-quality auction catalogs unlike any other auction company. Previous auctions include the collections of Cher, Madonna, U2, Barbra Streisand, Muhammad Ali, Debbie Reynolds, Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne, and the estate of Marilyn Monroe to name a few.
Based in Tulsa, Okla., Auction Network is the first 24/7 multimedia network solely dedicated to auction. Auction Network's executive team combines strong cable network backgrounds from years at TV Guide, Disney, Fox, Liberty Media and CNN with substantial auction experience at the helm of Williams & Williams Worldwide Real Estate Auction (www.williamsauction.com). The network launched in October 2007 at www.auctionnetwork.com.
Red Stripe Plane Music participates in the full spectrum of opportunities available in the rapidly evolving music business including artist management, publishing, production and distribution. Red Stripe Plane Music focuses on the implementation of creative distribution strategies for its artists, as well as the utilization of adjacent branding and merchandising opportunities. For more information, please visit www.rsplanemusic.com.
AEG is one of the leading sports and entertainment presenters in the world. AEG, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Anschutz Company, owns or controls a collection of companies including facilities such as STAPLES Center, Nokia Theatre L.A. LIVE, Club Nokia, Nokia Theatre Times Square, the O2, O2 World Arena, the El Rey Theatre and the Home Depot Center; sports franchises including the Los Angeles Kings (NHL), Los Angeles Galaxy (MLS) and others worldwide; AEG Global Partnerships, a sponsorship, sales, naming rights and consulting company; AEG Merchandising, a multifaceted merchandising company; AEG Facilities; AEG Creative; and AEG Live, one of the world's leading concert promotion and touring companies with 15 regional offices and stand-alone affiliate divisions devoted to all aspects of live entertainment including: AEG LIVE Events, creators and producers of special events of all sizes; AEG-TV, creators of live events for television, DVD, pay-per-view, cinema and other electronic media and AEG LIVE Tours & Special Events, Concerts West, Goldenvoice, the Messina Group and AEG Exhibitions, the company's national entertainment promotion and touring divisions. AEG LIVE is currently overseeing the international museum tour of the artifacts of King Tut "Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs" and co-produces the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and Goldenvoice, the company's southern California-based regional promotion division, created and operates the award winning annual Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival. Recently promoted tours have starred artists and groups including Christina Aguilera, "American Idol," Bon Jovi, Kenny Chesney, Dixie Chicks, the Eagles, Paul McCartney, Hannah Montana, Prince, Rod Stewart, George Strait, Justin Timberlake, Usher and Yanni.
Based in Peachtree City, Ga., and with Detroit-area operations located in Southfield, Mich., Panasonic Automotive Systems Company of America is a division of Secaucus, N.J.-based Panasonic Corporation of North America, the principal North American subsidiary of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (NYSE: MC) of Osaka, Japan, one of the world's leading developers and producers of innovative digital and other electronic products for consumer, business and industrial use. Panasonic Automotive Systems Company of America also acts as the North American operating company of Panasonic Automotive Systems Company, a division of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd., which coordinates global automotive industry systems and components operations. For more information on Panasonic and Matsushita Electric, visit www.panasonic.com.
After nearly 40 years in the music industry, Elliot Scheiner continues to be a highly sought-after producer and engineer. His career includes work with such music legends as Beck, Eric Clapton, the Eagles, Foo Fighters, Van Morrison, Queen, R.E.M., Steely Dan, and Sting. In addition to receiving his 20th GRAMMY nomination for his work on the Deborah Cox release Destination Moon, Scheiner won his sixth GRAMMY Award for Donald Fagen's 2006 release of Morph The Cat. Scheiner's recent work includes mixing for The Eagles' multi-platinum release Long Road Out Of Eden, and the remixed release of Nirvana's MTV Unplugged In New York performance. His extensive industry accolades include an Emmy Award for his work with the Eagles on their farewell tour broadcast and he holds four Emmy Award nominations. A TEC Hall of Fame inductee, Scheiner is the inaugural recipient of the Surround Pioneer Award, which was created to honor individuals who have made significant, groundbreaking contributions to the art of surround music production. He holds an honorary Doctor of Music degree from the legendary Berklee College of Music and is also the only American to be awarded the lauded Master of Sound honor from the Japan Audio Society.
