Last night, the 38th Annual Tibet House US Benefit Concert brought an evening of moving performances to New York’s Carnegie Hall by an eclectic lineup of artists that included Laurie Anderson, Patti Smith, Jackson Browne, Michal Stipe, Orville Peck, Arooj Aftab, Allison Russell, Tune-Yards, Angélique Kidjo, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Gogol Bordello, Gina Gershon, The Philip Glass Ensemble, Tenzin Choegyal, Sexmob, The Scorchio Quartet, Jesse Paris Smith, Rebecca Foon and an incredible house band that included Tony Shanahan, Brian Griffin, Erik Della Penna and Andy York. The evening’s co-artistic directors and curators were Philip Glass and Laurie Anderson.
Each year, what makes the annual Tibet House Benefit Concert so memorable and special are the extraordinary one-night-only performances and collaborations. The evening had countless standout moments as the artists celebrated the Year of the Wood Snake. Kicking off the night with their resonant chants, the Tibetan Monks performed to an entranced audience before welcoming the renowned Philip Glass Ensemble who played “Koyaanisqatsi” before throwing the thunderous applause to Philip Glass, who was seated in a box over the audience. Welcoming the audience, Tibet House President Bob Thurman shared his gratitude for the evening’s co-artistic directors and the Tibetan people while impressing the importance of holding on to humanity in tough times. Arooj Aftab took to the stage for a haunting performance of “Raat Ki Rani” before mesmerizing the audience with a hopeful rendition of “Mohabbat.” Keeping the applause going and dedicating his performance to both the children of Tibet as well as the stifled writers, poets, and musicians who are routinely jailed for expressing Tibetan pride, Tenzin Choegyal had the audience sing with him as he performed “GangeRi Rawe,” a song from his unreleased, forthcoming album Be The Sky, backed by the strings of 2024 GRAMMY winners’ Scorchio Quartet and a choir of Tibetan children making their Carnegie Hall debut.
Next up, Patti Smith treated the audience to an impassioned reading of Allen Ginsberg’s “Howl,” underscoring the importance of celebrating those who fall outside what is considered the mainstream, before launching into a performance of “Peaceable Kingdom” with the help of Rebecca Foon on cello, Tony Shanahan on guitar, and daughter Jesse Paris Smith on piano. She dedicated her performance to activist Rachel Corrie and all the children who have lost their lives to war, and finished the song with a spoken word section from “People Have The Power.” Keeping the party going, Tune-Yards dialed up the funk with their songs “How Big Is the Rainbow?” and “Limelight,” shimmying around the stage and getting people moving in their seats with backing vocals from the self-dubbed “Yard Birdies” which included Gina Gershon, Allison Russell and Laurie Anderson.
Diving into a powerful performance of “Dead of Night,” a tortured torch song from his debut album Pony, Orville Peck treated the audience to a mesmerizing cover of Leonard Cohen’s “Chelsea Hotel #2,” a song he had always wanted to perform. Bringing out Allison Russell to join him on stage for a duet of “Chemical Sunset,” a song which they had only performed live together once before, Orville picked up the energy to turn Carnegie Hall into a smoky rodeo dive bar before exiting. Keeping the energy high, Allison Russell performed an emotional rendition of her Birds of Chicago song “Superlover,” changing the lyrics to the song to call out DC in a poignant political statement, before organically inciting the audience to clap along with her to “Rag Child.”
Opening a more Avante Garde section of the evening, Ebon Moss-Bachrach read Allen Ginsberg’s “Wales Visitation,” a poem about a profound reverence for nature, over delicate strings from the Scorchio Quartet before Laurie Anderson whisked the audience away with “Junior Dad” – an introspective, immersive soundscape which she performed alongside jazz collective Sexmob and Martha Mooke. Joining Anderson on stage, Michael Stipe read “Desiderata” – a poem by Max Ehrmann that is almost a hundred years old and encourages people to be gentle with themselves. Laurie Anderson softly echoed Stipe’s words as he read before leaving the stage so the R.E.M. frontman could perform David Bowie’s “The Man Who Sold The World” before being joined by Tenzin Choegyal for “No Time for Love Like Now” and thunderous applause from the audience.
Taking the stage to a throng of excitement, Jackson Browne enveloped the hall with his poignant performance of “Don’t You Want To Be There” and “Far From The Arms of Hunger” before handing off the microphone to Angélique Kidjo, who immediately told the audience she was going to put them to work. Leading the audience in an energetic chant which became the foundation throughout the entire song as she belted the lead. Then, the entire hall celebrated our shared humanity with “Afirika” getting them up on their feet with many crowding to the front of the stage to dance with her. Following a joyful standing ovation, Angélique Kidjo left the stage and Laurie Anderson shared her three rules to live by when there isn’t enough time to think – don't be afraid of anyone, get a really good bullshit detector, and be really tender – before introducing Gogol Bordello who turned the hall upside down. Drawing a pertinent comparison between the plight of Ukraine and the injustices in Tibet, they catapulted into “Solidarity” and a rock show that shook the walls and the floor of Carnegie Hall. Joined by Gina Gershon on the jaw harp, Gogol Bordello went straight into “We Mean It, Man” with lead vocalist Eugene Hütz rocking out so hard he knocked over a mic stand before being joined by the entire company and leading them in a showstopping finale of Patti Smith’s famed anthem “People Have The Power.” Uma Thurman, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Peter Sarsgaard, Arden Wohl and Jonah Freeman served as the evening’s honorary chairs.
The festivities continued late into the night as the performing artists, VIPs, and Tibet House supporters including Chloë Sevigny and more enjoyed the elegant post-concert gala at Ziegfeld Ballroom – a perfect end to one of the longest-running and most acclaimed live cultural events in New York City. Proceeds support the work of Tibet House US as they forge ahead with their mission to protect, preserve, and empower the unique Tibetan culture.
Throughout its rich history, the Tibet House US Benefit Concert has had hundreds of world-class artists participate, including boygenius, Alabama Shakes, Phoebe Bridgers, Carly Simon, David Bowie, Stephen Colbert, Lou Reed, Sharon Jones, FKA twigs, The Roots, Jim James, Vampire Weekend, St. Paul and the Broken Bones, Blood Orange, Sigur Ros, Emmylou Harris, Jon Batiste, Nathaniel Rateliff, Jason Isbell, Iggy Pop, The Flaming Lips, Keanu Reeves, Eddie Vedder, Annie Lennox, Brittany Howard, Black Pumas, Cage The Elephant, Cyndi Lauper, Trey Anastasio and many, many more. The event has garnered praise from many, including New York Times, Rolling Stone, Hollywood Reporter, Wall Street Journal, Entertainment Weekly, Associated Press, Billboard, Vogue.
