The Novo in Downtown LA Hosts the 2019 MUSICARES Concert For Recovery Honoring Rapper, MACKLEMORE

Last week on Thursday night (5/16), the Novo in downtown Los Angeles located at LA Live held the 2019 MusiCares Concert for Recovery. Presented by Amazon Music, this incredible event benefited MusiCares Recovery Program and featured comedian Joel McHale as the host.

It included several special musical performances from Fitz And The Tantrums, Royce Da 5’9″, Mary Lambert and Grammy-nominated artist Kesha. During the evening, there was also a tribute to the late Mac Miller and rapper Macklemore was presented with the Stevie Ray Vaughan Award in recognition for his significant support for MusiCares and his commitment to helping others in the addiction recovery process. The event ended with a powerful and moving performance from the mulitple-Grammy-winning rapper as well.

MusiCares ensures music people have a place to turn in times of financial, medical, and personal need, and provides members of the music community access to addiction recovery resources and programs. Over the course of the last fiscal year, MusiCares provided more than $6.5 million dollars to approximately 8,600 members of the music industry. This is the most money distributed and clients served in a single year in the charity’s history.

Macklemore and Kesha (far left); Royce Da 5’9″, Mary Lambert (far right) and Fitz and The Tantrums (bottom)

After Joel McHale welcomed and warmed up the audience, he welcomed the first performer of the night, Fitz and The Tantrums. They played their lively chart-toppers “Hand Clap” and “The Walker.” Next up was the lovely Mary Lambert who serenaded the crowd at a simple keyboard with a brand new song that will be on her next album. After the stage had been set, rapper Royce da 5’9″ entered. He and his crew performed his tracks, “Shake This” and “Caterpillar.”

The rapper Vince Staples was then introduced after this performance to share a moving tribute to Mac Miller. It was one of the more touching moments during the night. Shortly following this, the Grammy president Neil Portnow discussed the importance of MusiCares and all the work that it has done for addiction recovery. In addition, he introduced the brand new Mac Miller Legacy Fund. The Mac Miller Legacy Fund is now an option on the dropdown menu of the MusiCares website’s donation page.

ROB LOWE (far left), MACKLEMORE (middle) and JOEL MCHALE (far right)

Then it was finally time for the man of the hour to accept his award. Actor Rob Lowe was the one to give the Stevie Ray Vaughn award to Macklemore. The musician eloquently spoke about his addiction recovery process in Seattle and the need for others to be honest and open up about their addictions. He described the moment in 2008 when he decided to take the necessary steps to become sober. After his thoughtful speech, Macklemore performed several of his biggest hits including “Same Love” with Mary Lambert returning, “Good Old Days” with pop star Kesha and his own powerful songs, “Starting Over” and “Closing.” He ended the night with the positive and uplifting “Can’t Hold Us.” 

More information on MusiCares and Amazon Music:  

MACKLEMORE

Established in 1989 by the Recording Academy, MusiCares offers health and human services and programs to members of the music community, including emergency financial assistance for basic living expenses such as rent, utilities, and car payments; medical expenses, including doctor, dentist and hospital bills; 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 health care professionals that provide services such as flu shots, hearing tests, and medical/dental screenings. MusiCares provides access to addiction recovery treatment and sober living resources for members of the music community. Staffed by qualified chemical dependency and intervention specialists, MusiCares offers Safe Harbor Room® support, sponsored in part by the Bohemian Foundation, to provide a 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.

For more information, visit www.musicares.org

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For more information, visit amazonmusic.com