Harry Shearer and Judith Owen, the creators of
the annual Christmas Without Tears Variety
Charity program, have announced that the benefactors of 2020's
virtual concert will be Help Musicians, New Orleans Musicians Clinic, Music
Venue Trust, and National Independent Venue Associations. The creators both
recognized the drastic effects that the coronavirus pandemic has had on
musicians and the music industry, so they decided to help benefit music
communities in the U.S. and in the UK.
The two UK charity organizations are Help
Musicians, which aims to help musicians grow in their career, and Music Venue
Trust, which improves, maintains, and helps to organize music venues in the UK.
The two U.S. charities are New Orleans Music Clinic, which is a nonprofit
organization that provides medical care to musicians and artists, and the National
Independent Venue Association, which organizes independent music venues and
festivals.
The Christmas Without Tears Variety Charity
initiative was started as a humble holiday house party by Shearer and Owen, yet
it was transformed into a charity event in 2005, when it was staged to
specifically help the communities of New Orleans after Katrina. Since then,
they've decided to prioritize helping the wider community with the funds earned
from the program.
This year's virtual concert will be held
Friday, December 11, at 4 p.m. CST, and will be hosted by Shearer and Owen
themselves. Guest video appearances will include that of Richard Thompson, Jon
Cleary, Julia Fordham, Steve Kukather, and Ringo Starr, among others. If you
can't watch it live, your webcast order allows you to watch it as many times as
you want within a 48-hour period. Click here to order your webcast now.