LOS ANGELES — Legendary singer-songwriter Cher along with Beck Trey Anastasio
and Alicia Keys graced the ninth annual Love Rocks NYC Benefit Concert for
God’s Love We Deliver.
The concert, which was Held at New York’s Beacon Theatre,
raised more than $4 million for the organization, which cooks and home-delivers
nutritious, medically tailored meals for people unable to shop or cook for
themselves, reports ‘Variety’.
During the performance, Cher gave a hat-tip to Elvis
Presley. The four-hour plus concert was hosted by Alex Edelman, Amy Schumer,
Susie Essman and Tracy Morgan, and also featured performances from Mavis
Staples, Michael McDonald, Kate Hudson, Peter Frampton, Dave Stewart of
Eurythmics with singer Vanessa Amorosi, Eric Burton of Black Pumas, Grace
Bowers, Jesse Malin, Luke Spiller and Christone “Kingfish” Ingram.
As per ‘Variety’, Cher delivered the evening’s most
eye-grabbing performance, kicking off her three-song set dressed as Elvis
Presley and performing ‘Walking in Memphis’. She donned two different
(lower-key) outfits for her next two numbers, her own ‘(This Is) A Song for the
Lonely’, which featured images of old New York displayed behind her,
celebrating the spirit of the city’s resilience, and of course closed with her
smash ‘Believe’.
Alicia Keys opened the show by paying tribute to Roberta
Flack, who passed away last week, with a cover of her 1973 hit ‘Killing Me
Softly’, and then honored her hometown with her hit ‘Empire State of Mind’. Other
highlights included Mavis Staples joined by Michael McDonald for a soulful
performance of the Staples Singers’ classic ‘I’ll Take You There’, and the
night concluded with an all-star performance of Stevie Wonder’s ‘Higher
Ground’, which embodied the event’s celebration of unity.
The ninth annual Love Rocks NYC was executive produced by
international fashion designer John Varvatos, NYC real estate broker and
concert producer Greg Williamson.