On September 13th, at the Fonda Theater in Los Angeles, an array of artists will converge to honor Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers at Petty Fest LA: Celebrating the 40th Anniversary of Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers. Ticket sale proceeds will benefit Refuge Foundation for the Arts, a non-profit organization supporting the creation of music and art. Located in Appleton, Wisconsin, the ten-acre sanctuary houses recording and art studios and residences. “Celebrating the living legacy of Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers with an amazing line-up is a lot of fun,” says Best Fest founder Austin Scaggs. “But raising money for Refuge Foundation, and doing our part to help support and nurture a new wave of musicians and artists makes this all worthwhile.”
As always, the Best Fest’s acclaimed house band, The Cabin Down Below Band, will host a prodigious cast of musicians, with confirmed artists including Jakob Dylan, Carly Rae Jepsen, Brandon Boyd of Incubus, Matt Shultz of Cage The Elephant, Dhani Harrison, Cameron Avery of Tame Impala, Lissie, Summer Moon featuring Nikolai Fraiture, Stephen Perkins, Nikki Lane, Brett Dennen, The Pierces, Cory Chisel, Jonathan Tyler, The Shelters, Eric Pulido of Midlake, Elvis Perkins, Emily Armstrong of Dead Sara, Adriel Denae, J-Council and many more surprise guests. Expect the unexpected.
The Best Fest is proud to begin its partnership with Refuge Foundation for the Arts, which was founded in response to the lack of resources available to artists today, and honored to support their mission: “Helping Artists Create.”
“Refuge Foundation is a way for musicians and artists to take care of our own,” says Grammy-nominated singer and songwriter Cory Chisel, who created the Refuge Foundation with his partner, Adriel Denae. “Our goal is to free the artist’s creative and business process from the strictures of the current model, which can often become an economic stranglehold for artists, especially when it comes to musicians, record labels, and the business of making records.” While Refuge Foundation provides opportunities for so many facets of the arts – photography, sculpture, film, dance, wood and metal working, and more – the Best Fest will focus its partnership on emerging musicians and The Refuge Artist in Residence Program. Singer and songwriter J-Council, 35, is the first such musician in residence and will be joining the star-studded Petty Fest cast. “Refuge Foundation offered me the time, money, and the freedom to help me write and create my own message,” says J-Council, who will release his debut album later this year. “The chance to perform alongside so many incredible artists at Petty Fest is just crazy!”
“Refuge Foundation and The Best Fest are a natural fit,” says Scaggs. “Music is the thing that keeps our collective of musicians alive, spiritually and economically. By donating the proceeds from Best Fest concerts to Refuge we are waving the flag of togetherness, which is at the core of what we do.”
Lets check out Butch Walker ringing out “Don’t Do Me Like That” from Petty Fest in Seattle in 2014.
