Who: Patti Smith, Loudon Wainwright, Kaki King, Jesse Paris Smith, Martha Mooke, Shyam Nepali, Nicole Atkins, Tara Lobsang, Karanjit Singh, Pema Kunsang, and more to be announced
What: An afternoon of live music and art to raise funds and awareness about the plight of Nepal (and Tibet, India, and Bangladesh) following the devastating earthquake, through Everest Awakening
Where: City Winery, 155 Varick St. at Spring St., 212-608-0555
When: Sunday, May 17, $40-$55, 1:00
Why: More than seven thousand people have died as a result of the April 25 earthquake, so Jesse Paris Smith was inspired to found Everest Awakening. Given that appellation by Tenzin Choegyal, the group’s mission statement explains, “The name represents a symbol of the issues faced today in the Himalaya. We think of Everest as so firm, untouchable, and almighty, and yet it was fragile, not spared in the face of this disaster. Mother Earth no longer accepts our presence with silence, so we need to rise up to awaken our hearts.” On May 17, a group of musicians and artists will perform at a benefit at City Winery, including Smith, her mother, Patti, folk troubadour Loudon Wainwright III, guitarist and composer Kaki King, electro-violist and composer Martha Mooke, sarangi player Shyam Nepali, singer-songwriter and painter Nicole Atkins, photographer Karanjit Singh, master calligrapher Tara Lobsang, Buddhist translator Pema Kunsang, and others. You can also contribute to the relief effort by purchasing a copy of Everest Awakening: Prayer for Nepal and Beyond, a collection of seventy-eight songs by such artists as Patti Smith, Flea, Krishna Das, Shilpa Ray, Philip Glass, Anne Waldman, Larkin Grimm, Holly Miranda, Lenny Kaye, and dozens more.