The help for tsunami victims keeps on coming from the music community.
No Doubt, Linkin Park with Jay-Z, Blink-182, Jurassic 5, Story of the Year, Crystal Method and Ozzy Osbourne will perform at a benefit concert Feb. 18 in Anaheim, Calif. The organizer, Music for Relief, hopes to raise over $1 million from the show, with proceeds going to UNICEF and Habitat for Humanity programs in South Asia.
R&B star Alicia Keys led an array of singers and other international celebrities who entertained thousands at a separate benefit event on Feb. 3. The MTV Asia Aid show in the Thai capital of Bangkok featured Western musicians, actors from India’s Bollywood film industry, and even a cricket-playing legend from Sri Lanka to aid relief efforts in countries ravaged by the Dec. 26 disaster.
Thailand’s own sultry pop singer Tata Young was an early performer on a bill which included India’s Asha Bhosle, Good Charlotte from the United States and Taiwan’s Jay Chou. Luminaries of the musical world such as 50 Cent, Robbie Williams and Sting voiced their support in taped messages.
During the concert, UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy came on stage and said recovery would not come quickly, but that that support for the event told survivors that “we’re here to help.” A taped message from U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan was also shown.
The lead singer of rap-rock band Linkin Park, Chester Bennington, also performed at the Bangkok event after touring schools and an aid project in southern Thailand, encouraging tourists to return to the damaged areas.
Bennington stopped at two elementary schools and helped paint the side of a house with foreign travelers who are helping rebuild damaged homes and shops along Phuket island’s Bang Tao beach.
“Their entire livelihood depends on tourism and there’s no one here,” he told The Associated Press in a phone interview. “The hotels are ready for them and it’s time to get things back to normal…. People need to come back to these areas and really spend some money.”
Soon after the tsunami hit Asian and African coastlines, Linkin Park and the American Red Cross
helped launch Music for Relief to provide assistance for people in affected countries. The band made an initial donation of $100,000, according to the MTV.com Web site.