Mike Peters will be in the USA on Saturday 18th January 2014, to make a special guest appearance at the Bruce Springsteen supported Light Of Day Benefit Concert for Parkinson’s Disease at the Paramount Theatre, Asbury Park, New Jersey.
Mike will be performing alongside Johnny Rzeznick of the Goo Goo Dolls and other well known Light of Day supporters such as Jesse Malin, Joe D’Urso and Willie Nile (whom Mike has appeared with regularly over the last few years at the Welsh Light Of Day concert).
During the build up to the main event at the Paramount, Mike Peters will also be appearing at other locations in Asbury Park on the Thursday / Friday 17/18 January, sitting in as a guest musician with both the Willie Nile Band and Joe D’Urso and Stone Caravan.
It’s promises to be a whirlwind trip for Mike as he will also be in New York to film a taped interview for Fuse TV about his work as a musician and activist with Love Hope Strength Foundation. After the Light Of Day show, Mike will be heading back to Britain for the start of The Gathering rehearsals on January 20th.
Bring it on.
ABOUT LIGHT OF DAY
Light of Day is a New Jersey-based 501 © (3) organization which funds research into possible cures, improved treatments and support for persons suffering from Parkinson’s disease and related illnesses. The primary fundraising efforts are an annual series of concerts held in Asbury Park, NJ. Since its inception in 2000, Light of Day has raised over $2 million in the fight to find a cure for Parkinson’s disease. What began as a single concert in New Jersey has grown into thirty-five shows in twelve countries throughout the U.S., Canada and Europe.
The concerts and the organization began as a birthday party in November 1998 to celebrate the 40th birthday of artist manager and music industry veteran Bob Benjamin. Benjamin had recently been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system, and in lieu of gifts, asked that donations be made to the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation. Over $2,000 was raised that night. Spurred by the generosity and support, Benjamin reached out to friends, including concert promoter Tony Pallagrosi and musician Joe D’Urso, and formed the Light of Day charity, taking its name from a Bruce Springsteen song.
The first official Light of Day concert was held at Asbury Park, NJ’s legendary Stone Pony in November 2000 and primarily featured local, unsigned artists. The critically acclaimed Pittsburgh-based band Joe Grushecky and the Houserockers (managed by Benjamin) headlined the show, which featured a surprise appearance by local hero Bruce Springsteen, who joined the Houserockers for a raucous hour-long set.
Over the years Light of Day has grown from a one-day event into a five-day festival in the New Jersey/New York metropolitan area. More significantly, Light of Day has expanded into an internationally recognized tour, through a true grassroots effort of musicians, music fans and benefactors. Light of Day shows take place around the world, including six shows in Canada and a two week December trek through Europe, with stops in England, Wales, Ireland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Spain and more. Portions of the proceeds from each show are donated to a local Parkinson’s organization.
Performers at Light of Day have included Bruce Springsteen (numerous appearances), Michael J. Fox, John Rzeznik (Goo Goo Dolls), Ed Kowalczyk (Live), Jesse Malin, Alejandro Escovedo, Willie Nile, Mike Peters (The Alarm), Garland Jeffreys, Jakob Dylan, Lucinda Williams, Badly Drawn Boy, Pete Yorn, Gary US Bonds, Joe D’Urso and Stone Caravan, John Eddie and many more local unsigned artists.
Light of Day also fields a team in the annual Parkinson’s Unity Walk in New York’s Central Park. Over the years the Light of Day team has raised $80,000, which helped the Walk raise over $3 million for Parkinson’s research.
The Light of Day concerts have received print, online and television coverage from many outlets, including the Asbury Park Press, Rolling Stone, Time Magazine, Billboard, New York Times, NJ Star Ledger, Home News Tribune, Aquarian Weekly, New Jersey Monthly Magazine, Backstreets.com, CBS Early Show, NBC Nightly News, WWOR Channel 9 News and more.
An award-winning documentary about Bob’s battle with Parkinson’s and the history of Light of Day (with extensive concert footage) was produced by Ohio-based Flat Broke Productions and released on DVD by Virgil Films in 2012. To order, visit the Light of Day Store www.lightofday.org/store or buy directly from Virgil Films.www.virgilfilmsent.com/store/product. The documentary is also available through Amazon, Hulu, Netflix and other VOD outlets.