It’s no secret that whenever there is a worthy cause, musicians are among the first to stand up and pitch in to help.
The recent wildfires have once again brought out the best in people, with numerous events around town to help raise money for victims.
One of the most impressive such musical endeavors takes place on Dec. 18 at Anthology.
Built around a tribute concert in honor of legendary group Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, the performance benefits both the Booth Family Fund and Emergency Animal Rescue.
On hand will be Eve Selis, Tim Flannery, Peter Bolland and Berkley Hart, backed by an all-star band comprising Jim Soldi, Sharon Whyte, Marc Twang, Larry Grano and Rick Nash.
This concert will actually be the second time this particular group of artists has gathered to play these songs.
“The idea for the original show came from Cactus, Twang and Whyte, members of the Eve Selis Band, who do a trio gig twice a month at Calypso Café,” explained Selis.
“So many people love to hear CSNY songs like ‘Suite: Judy Blue Eyes’ and ‘Our House’ live, with all the harmonies and memories from their youth, that we decided to put together a tribute show just for fun.”
When the fires happened, many artists canceled their shows because of the smoke and bad air quality, but Selis and friends decided to go ahead with the event.
“We all needed an evening of music and wonderful memories. We decided it was more important to do the show than not,” she said.
As the fire devastation became apparent, the musicians involved thought it would be great to do an encore show with all the proceeds benefiting fire victims.
“My dad was a jazz musician just getting started during the Depression,” remarked Twang. “He told me that at the time, he and his brothers “” all musicians “” were always working because people wanted to get out and feel good.
“We found that to be the case when we let everyone know we were going ahead with the original concert after the fires.”
According to Twang, the response to that show was overwhelming.
“The response went beyond the normal thing that your band or our band might get,” he said.
“It was deeper that night because we were all a bit traumatized and I think we all felt connected and hopeful about the future while reliving a time of innocence through these classic songs.”
The evening will concentrate on material from CSN&Y’s first two albums with a smattering of their solo hits, including Neil Young’s “Heart of Gold” and Stephen Stills’ “Love the One You’re With.”
While everyone performing is a die-hard fan of their chosen subject’s music, Twang in particular has gained a new level of admiration for David Crosby.
“Since I fit into his vocal range I had to learn his parts. In the process I have gained such respect for the guy. He may not be the hit songwriter that the others are, but his harmonies are very complex at times and show just what a great singer he is.”
For his part, Flannery came to be part of this show by accident.
“I was just going to go listen, [but] I had been playing some Neil Young all summer, so I joined in,” he laughed.
He’s thrilled at the sound the combination of musicians was creating.
“If you love CSNY and grew up with them, you won’t be disappointed,” he said.
Selis considers the benefit to be a natural fit for the performers, both artistically and spiritually, “because music is so healing.”
She notes that musicians are not always able to donate financially to help out but love to contribute to worthy causes in other ways.
“Putting on a concert and donating their time and talents feels like the right thing to do, and everyone has a good time while helping out their neighbors. It’s a win, win situation,” she said.
The CSN&Y Tribute/Wildfire Victims Benefit takes place at Anthology, 1337 India Street, on Tuesday, Dec. 18.
Admission is $15 to $20 and open to ages 21 and up.
For more information visit www.anthologysd.com.