Steven Tyler Tour Dates
08/25/2017 Thackerville, OK Colosseum
09/03/2017 Puyallup, WA Washington State Fair 09/15/2017 Quito, Ecuador Estadio Olimpico 09/18/2017 Belo Horizonte, Brazil Esplanada 09/21/2017 Rio De Janeiro, Brazil Rock In Rio 09/24/2017 Sao Paulo, Brazil Allianz Parque 09/27/2017 Curitiba, Brazil Pedreira Paulo Leminski 09/30/2017 Santiago, Chile Santiago Rock City 10/03/2017 Rosario, Argentina Estadio 10/07/2017 Monterrey, MX Mother Of All Rock Festival Darius Rucker Tour Dates
07/29/2017 Quincy, WA Watershed Festival
08/01/2017 Morrison, CO Red Rocks Amph 08/03/2017 Prairie du Chien, WI Country On The River 08/04/2017 Detroit Lakes, MN Soo Pass Ranch WE Fest 08/05/2017 Highland Park, IL Ravinia Festival 08/18/2017 Durant, OK Choctaw Grand Theater 08/19/2017 Council Bluffs, IA Harrah's Council Bluffs 09/23/2017 Alpharetta, GA Kicks Country Fair John Fogerty Tour Dates
08/26/2017 Arrington, VA Oak Ridge Farm Festival 09/20/2017 Las Vegas, NV Encore Theater 09/22/2017 Las Vegas, NV Encore Theater 09/23/2017 Las Vegas, NV Encore Theater 09/27/2017 Las Vegas, NV Encore Theater 09/29/2017 Las Vegas, NV Encore Theater 09/30/2017 Las Vegas, NV Encore Theater 10/04/2017 Las Vegas, NV Encore Theater 10/06/2017 Las Vegas, NV Encore Theater 10/07/2017 Las Vegas, NV Encore Theater 01/10/2018 Las Vegas, NV Encore Theater 01/12/2018 Las Vegas, NV Encore Theater 01/13/2018 Las Vegas, NV Encore Theater 01/17/2018 Las Vegas, NV Encore Theater 01/19/2018 Las Vegas, NV Encore Theater 01/20/2018 Las Vegas, NV Encore Theater Read More
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Life-changing missions to countries halfway around the world, silent auctions with memorabilia from some of the best known celebrities, and even a week’s stay at Steven Tyler’s house—
These were just some of the fundraising items offered at the Starkey Foundation’s 17th Annual So the World May Hear Awards Gala held at the Rivercentre ballroom in St. Paul.
The annual benefit, which supports the Foundation’s community-based hearing healthcare programs and other global strategic initiatives, enjoyed its largest crowd to date – more than 1,500 supporters and donors for an entertainment-filled evening that enlightened, thrilled, and further strengthened the need to spread the gift of hearing.
Raising more than $7 million at the Gala alone, the event is the centerpiece of a year-long campaign to grow the Foundation’s international missions and domestically, its Hear Now program continues to provide hearing devices to those in need as well. Previously, we covered the red carpet and arrivals; now, we want to focus on the gala itself and its many memorable music performances.
A silent auction of all types of memorabilia and items continued in the lobby as a full orchestra cued up to begin the program at 5:30 as attendees finished dinner and drinks at ten-person tables. Australian vocal ensemble ARIA (the foursome was previously part of The Ten Tenors) opened with their stirring rendition of ‘You Raise Me Up’ as a bald eagle on cue, flew above the impressed crowd, to land on his trainer’s arm, on a lift near the back of the ballroom.
Host and emcee Sinbad then took to the stage for a short routine and welcoming, and then introduced a Special Olympics video as well as Carlson Companies CEO Marilyn Carlson Nelson. The youngest star of the evening, thirteen year-old Grace Vanderwaal next took to the stage for a short three-song set.
The winner of last year’s America Got Talent competition seemed very humbled and appreciative to be invited and opened with ‘Clay’ from her Perfectly Imperfect EP (Columbia Records). “Music is the universal language, it connects to everyone in some way” she said before ‘Light the Sky’ and ended with picking up the ukulele for her first single, ‘Moonlight’.
In December 2016, the inaugural class of the Starkey Hearing Institute in Zambia graduated and the students were present at the Gala to be recognized. Her Excellency Madam Esther Lungu, First Lady of Zambia, was honored this evening as a Starkey advocate and being a driving force for establishment of the Institute in her country.
Zambian R&B/pop singer Portia Clark would be the next performer, with a brief but very appropriate version of the evening’s theme song, ‘So the World May Hear’. Ben Affleck, the actor/director currently making waves reprising the role of Batman in November’s Justice League, was introduced by his business partner Whitney Williams and honored for the Eastern Congo Initiative, an advocacy/grant-making initiative working with and empowering the people of the central African country.
Starkey co-founders Bill and Tani Austin each had their time at the podium, with each emoting their thanks to the donors and supporters and telling their own uplifting stories of the gift of giving. In addition to new tablets on each table which allowed a simple click-to-donate feature, the auction got underway with mission experiences which provide the gift of hearing in places all around the world, were auctioned off, as a life-changing opportunity to be a part of one. Additionally, Elvis Presley‘s first piano is due to hit the online auction block next month, with proceeds going to the Foundation.
Wilf Family Foundations teamed up with Starkey in 2015 to provide hearing aids to in New York, including 15 Holocaust survivors and were honored, with Larry Wilf accepting on their behalf. Amps then got turned up as John Fogerty and band took to the stage for a barnstorming ten-song set, headed by the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer in his usual plaid shirt, son Shane (a recent USC grad) on guitar, and the thunderous drums of Kenny Aronoff.
After the opening ‘Travelin’ Band’, Fogerty acknowledged “everyone dressed up in your fine going-to-a-party clothes” before taking us to the swamp for ‘Born on the Bayou’ then switching to his trademark bat guitar for ‘Centerfield’. Fogerty admitted loving to play ‘Have You Ever Seen the Rain’ because it reminds him of his youngest daughter Kelsey, “the rainbow in my life”, as he and son Shane guitar-dueled on that and a blistering ‘Old Man Down the Road’. The barrage of CCR hits continued, even working in the highly political ‘Fortunate Son’ before finishing with the classic, ‘Proud Mary’.
Shark Tank investor and FUBU creator Daymond John presented the award to FedEx Corporation for its FedEx Cares Program and commitment to invest in over 200 global communities by 2020 (with Richard Smith accepting) and Starkey partner LSTN Sound Co. debuted details of its partnership with Delta in providing in-flight headphones.
Singer Darius Rucker was next on the stage, with a five-song set of newer country hits and a couple looks back, to his former band, Hootie and the Blowfish. Rucker has successfully transitioned to the country genre (his most recent being 2015’s Southern Style on Capitol Nashville) and remains a great singer and entertainer. “I’m blessed to be here -and on this bill”, Rucker said in genuine awe, even dedicating his most famous song, ‘Only Wanna Be With You’ to Fogerty and honoring a Sinbad special request to play a Blackstreet cover that the Blowfish would often do back in the nineties, which had the well-dressed out of their chairs and moving.
Comedian Sinbad then a longer turn at the mic, to complement the sign language interpreter on her get down moves, roast the wealthy for not donating enough and acting like they do, and taking turns at celebrities in the audience like Jimmy Jam, who he thought had to have no eyes, because he’s never seen without sunglasses.
Scott and Sandi Borchetta of Big Machine Records (label of Taylor Swift, Rascal Flatts, etc)and Music Has Value, were honored for their longtime involvement with Starkey and spoke not only about the importance of hearing in the music business, but also of the message that the art of creating music should be fairly compensated for, especially as the industry moves from physical to downloadable.
The evening’s closing entertainment was provided by Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler, in a solo performance with his own Loving Mary Band and who released the country-tinged We’re All Somebody from Somewhere, last year on Dot Records. Classic rock fans immediately recognized the beginnings of ‘Sweet Emotion’ which was followed by another Aerosmith radio staple, ‘Cryin’.
“I got some new friends tonight- Bill and Tani Austin” Tyler said, honestly touched by learning about the good work the Foundation does, and then explained how he first heard Janis Joplin on the radio in 1968, whose banshee wail influenced his own singing and helped him decide to do that as a "job" as he and the band covered ‘Piece of My Heart’. Mid-set, Tyler stopped the music to get directly involved, by auctioning a full week in his own retreat, a house located in a nature preserve in Kihei, Maui which eventually went for $200,000.
Picking things up after that, Tyler leapt to the grand piano in the right corner of the stage, teasing a Shirelles snippet before seguing into Aerosmith’s Dream On’. Tyler then moved to bongos for the intro of ‘Walk this Way’, which ended with the outro of Led Zeppelin’s ‘Whole Lotta Love’; appropriate in that funds raised at Starkey Foundation’s 17th Annual So the World May Hear Awards Gala would go to such an effort, in the form of a gift of a whole lot of love- the essential sense of hearing.
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ARIA |
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Grace Vanderwaal |
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Bill Austin |
ARIA |
Starkey Guests |
Silent Auction |
Portia Clark |
Portia Clark |
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Portia Clark |
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Eagle Flight |
Esther Lungu |
Larry Wilf |
Sinbad |
Grace Vanderwaal |
Zambia Graduates |
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John Fogerty |
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Daymond John |
John Fogerty |
John Fogerty |
John Fogerty |
John Fogerty |
Darius Rucker |
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Darius Rucker |
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Ben Affleck |
Scott & Sandi Borchetta |
Scott & Sandi Borchetta |
Steven Tyler |
Steven Tyler |
Steven Tyler |
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Steven Tyler at Starkey Foundation 17th Annual Awards Gala, St. Paul (16 July 2017) |
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