On a drizzly Thursday evening on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, the dressing rooms and backstage stairwells of the Beacon Theater bustled with rock royalty. Everyone was readying to take the stage for the Love Rocks charity concert, which after a decade running, has become one of New York’s most decorated nights of rock ’n’ roll.
A small security detail escorted Paul Simon through the building. Billy Gibbons hung out in his dressing room listening to Jimmy Reed tunes to hype himself up. Nile Rodgers lounged backstage beside catered trays of vegan paella and ricotta ravioli with toasted sage. And Elvis Costello downed a coffee that he had served himself from an espresso machine.
Sipping his espresso, Mr. Costello reflected on the charity that the concert benefits, God’s Love We Deliver. Founded in the 1980s at the height of the AIDS crisis, the nonprofit feeds New Yorkers who have life-altering chronic illnesses.
“When my mother had Parkinson’s, I was lucky enough to be able to provide her with the care that she needed,” Mr. Costello said. “But for 40 years, going back to the ’80s, this charity has been supporting people who don’t have the means to be taken care of”
Amidst a star-studded night of rock ’n’ roll, some guests considered the state of rock music today. Was it on life support? Or was it doing just fine?
“You’ve got to look for it now, but it’s alive,” said the designer John Varvatos, who produced the concert along with Nicole Rechter and the event’s founder, Greg Williamson. “Rock music has always been about rebellion, and people still need that in the world.”
“We have to interrogate what it is that rock looks like,” Hozier, the Irish singer-songwriter, said. “It’s easy for people to fall prey to a myopic view of rock ’n’ roll, and we’d all benefit from a different angle.”
“There’s already a great next generation,” he added. “I’m excited by bands like Geese and by Cameron Winter, because they defy expectation, and that’s elemental to rock ’n’ roll.”
The four-hour concert, held in the Beacon’s majestic auditorium, had the feel of a grand old rock revue. Its hosts included Whoopi Goldberg, Julianne Moore and Bill Murray, who lent cowbell backup to the Preservation Hall Jazz Band after it paraded through the audience in a second line. The house band, which was led by Will Lee and included a six-piece horn section, included musicians like Larry Campbell, Eric Krasno and Steve Gadd.
The concert’s highlights included a performance of “The Weight” by Mavis Staples, Warren Haynes, Hozier and Mr. Costello. John McEnroe joined Mr. Gibbons for a performance of ZZ Top’s “Sharp Dressed Man.” And taking the stage near midnight to a reverential room, Mr. Simon played a tender version of “The Boxer” with pedal steel accompaniment from Mr. Campbell.
The night’s final coda befitted an evening about giving back. It ended with a rousing ensemble stage performance of the Beatles’s “With a Little Help From My Friends.”
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