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Light of Day - the concerts and the
organization - grew from a birthday party and
fund-raiser held in 1998 at the Downtown Cafe in
Red Bank to celebrate the 40th birthday of
artist manager and music industry veteran Bob
Benjamin. Benjamin was diagnosed with
Parkinson's Disease in 1996.
In 2000, Benjamin and Tony Pallagrosi of
Concerts East, Inc. organized the first official
Light of Day concert, which took place at the
legendary Stone Pony in Asbury Park on Nov. 3 -
Benjamin's birthday. Headlining were Joe
Grushecky and the Houserockers, the
Pittsburgh-based band managed by Benjamin. The
show featured an appearance by Bruce
Springsteen, who joined the Houserockers for a
late-night set that ended well after 2 a.m.
Springsteen has appeared with Grushecky & the
Houserockers at seven of the ten Light of Day
concerts.
In 2001 and 2002, the show moved to the
now-demolished Tradewinds in Sea Bright, and
returned to the Stone Pony in 2003, becoming a
two-day event. It was a three-day event in 2004.
Dozens of artists, including Gary U.S. Bonds,
Garland Jeffreys, John Eddie, La Bamba and the
Hubcaps, Marah, Soozie Tyrell, Highway 9,
Boccigalupe and the Badboys, Dan Bern, Willie
Nile, Pete Yorn, Robert Earl Keen, Southside
Johnny and Jesse Malin have performed at Light
of Day. In 2003, actor Michael J. Fox, who also
suffers from Parkinson's Disease, joined
Grushecky, Springsteen and Benjamin on stage for
a performance of the show's theme song.
The shows, named after a Springsteen song
that is the title of a movie starring Fox and
Joan Jett, have raised funds for the ongoing
fights against Parkinson's Disease, PSP, ALS
(Lou Gehrig's Disease) and related diseases.
A CD featuring covers of Springsteen songs by
various artists was released in 2003 on
Benjamin's own Schoolhouse Records label. The CD
and a European version, also released in 2003,
have sold over 30,000 units worldwide and raised
an additional $150,000 for Parkinson's research
and for the Kristen Ann Carr
Fund. All told, the Light of Day ventures have
raised over $1.5 million dollars since 1998.
In 2005, the Light of Day series expanded
significantly, featuring one show at the Stone
Pony and two shows at a new venue, the Starland
Ballroom in Sayreville, NJ. That year also saw
Light of Day produce its first show outside of
New Jersey with a show at the House of Blues on
the famed Sunset Strip in Los Angeles. The
inaugural West Coast show featured appearances
by Lucinda Williams, Jakob Dylan, Dave Alvin and
Peter Himmleman. The first international event
was also held in Rome in December 2005.
In 2006, all three Light of Day shows,
including an opening night acoustic "Writers in
the Raw" event, were held at Starland Ballroom.
Light of Day was moved to early December in 2006
for the first time, to give founder Bob Benjamin
more time to recover from DBS surgery for
Parkinson's. The international shows
grew into a second show in Rome and inaugural
dates in London and Barcelona.
Light of Day 8 featured two days of concerts
at Starland Ballroom on Nov. 1 and 2, 2007,
followed by a week of shows in Europe and two
performances in Canada. The first night featured
an acoustic format while the second night hosted
rock performances by artists including Grushecky
and the Houserockers, Gary U.S. Bonds and Joe
D'Urso and Stone Caravan.
In 2008, Light of Day 9 began with a rare
intimate acoustic performance by multiplatinum
Grammy-winning artist John Rzeznik (Goo Goo
Dolls) at Asbury Park's Paramount Theater.
John's stirring set was preceded by rocking sets
from D'Urso, Willie Nile, Jesse Malin and Joe
Grushecky. There were also acoustic sets
throughout the night. That was followed by a
marathon concert at the Stone Pony with over 20
performers during the day/night show.
The tour on next moved onto to Niagara Falls
and Toronto, Ontario, Canada and ended with a
post-Thanksgiving, week-long trek through
Europe, including stops in Stockholm, Oslo,
Milan, Rome, Madrid, Wales and London. Portions
of the proceeds from each show were donated to a
local Parkinson's organization.
Light of Day fields a team in the annual
Parkinson's Unity Walk in New York's Central
Park. Over the last three years the Light of Day
team has raised $50,000 which helped the Walk
raise over $3 million for Parkinson's research.
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