John Lennon fans will come together once more at 42nd annual tribute/benefit show in Manhattan

By Larry McShane / July 1, 2022

Singer-songwriter Joan Osborne, this year’s headliner and honoree for the 42nd annual benefit concert honoring the late John Lennon, has long drawn inspiration from his unparalleled career.

“Lennon’s songs always showed me that music is a way for us to tell our deepest truths — to ourselves, to each other and to the wider world,” said Osborne, who will be joined Oct. 8 by fellow artists including Willie Nile and Catherine Russell at the annual celebration of the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer.

The John Lennon Tribute show will include songs dating from his days with the Beatles, including material from a pair of classic Fab Four albums: “Rubber Soul” and “Revolver.”

Tickets are already on sale for the show at Symphony Space in Manhattan, with the event slated for the day before what would have been Lennon’s 82nd birthday. He was just 40 when shot to death by a deranged fan outside his Upper West Side home on the night of Dec. 8, 1980.

“For many years, Joan Osborne’s beautiful voice had touched our hearts and brought us joy,” said Yoko Ono in a statement. “I am in great admiration of Joan’s support of charities that provide health care for women, assistance for children affected by war, and so many others.”

Proceeds from the annual event help support free songwriting workshops (the John Lennon real Love Project) for children who lost a parent to cancer, along with aid for adult cancer patients, cancer survivors and their family members.

Past honorees include Patti Smith, Natalie Merchant, Rosanne Cash and Ani DiFranco. The annual gathering remains the only Lennon-related event sanctioned by Ono, and tickets are available online via https://www.lennontribute.org/buy-tickets.

Osborne said she remains inspired by John and Yoko’s ability to use their notoriety to highlight important issues of the day, “The need for peace during a time of war, the need for justice in an time of inequality, the need for love in a time of division and alienation.”

Organizer Joe Raiola, artistic director of the group Theatre Within, hailed Osborne for her lengthy association with the annual show. Her first appearance was in 2009, and this year will mark her tenth.

“Joan has played a major role in raising the tribute’s profile and establishing it as an important New York cultural and charity event,” he said. “Her impact has been seismic.”

As was the impact of Lennon and Ono on Osborne’s own career.

“As performer and public person, one who is naturally shy and retiring, I looked to John and Yoko’s example as a way to bring meaning and purpose to the process of publicizing my own music,” she said. “And I’m thrilled to be recognized by Yoko Ono, who has always been a heroine to me.”