John Mayer Helps Raise More Than $100,000 At "The Livingston Town Proper: A Concert to Benefit the Fighters of the Pine Creek Fire"

NEW YORK, Jan. 17, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- "The Livingston Town Proper: A Concert to Benefit the Fighters of the Pine Creek Fire," a special musical event organized and hosted by performing artist John Mayer, has raised more than $100,000 to help firefighters who battled summer 2012's devastating Pine Creek Fire, which destroyed more than 8500 acres of forest and farmland in and around the town of Livingston, outside of Bozeman, Montana.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130117/NY44402)

The January 16 show, held at the Emerson Theater in downtown Bozeman, marked Mayer's first in-concert performance as a singer since April 1, 2011.  (In March 2012, the return of a throat granuloma forced the artist to cancel his first tour in two years and take an indefinite hiatus).

The concert found Mayer joined onstage by Zac Brown and Clay Cook of the Grammy-winning Zac Brown Band.  Special guests rounding out the evening included David Ryan Harris, Sean Hurley, Aaron Sterling, Ben Bullington and Lil Jane & The Pistol Whips.  John performed three songs--"Speak for Me," "Whiskey, Whiskey, Whiskey" and "If I Ever Get Around To Living"--from his latest album, Born and Raised, and "Who Says" from 2009's Battle Studies.

It took hundreds of local firefighters weeks to contain and extinguish the fast-moving Pine Creek blaze, which began on Aug. 29. The tight-knit local community banded together to help the local fire and rescue companies keep the fire from spreading to houses and schools. Only five homes – and no lives – were lost.

"Without the tireless effort and dedication of the firefighters of the Pine Creek Fire, many more homes and memories would have been destroyed, mine among them," said Mayer. "I wasn't in town when the fire broke out and I've always wished I could do my part to help, the way so many in the community did. Putting on a concert to raise some money for the departments is the least I can do for a town and a community that has welcomed me with open arms."

About John Mayer

Released in June 2012, Born and Raised, the fifth Columbia Records album from seven-time Grammy-winning singer, songwriter and guitarist John Mayer, debuted at Number One in six countries--Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Denmark, Netherlands and the United States--while hitting Number One on iTunes in thirty territories worldwide. 

Mayer's previous albums--Room for Squares (2001), Heavier Things (2003), Continuum (2006) and Battle Studies (2009)--have sold more than 17 million copies combined worldwide.  John has won Grammy Awards and received an additional 11 nominations.  He has been included in Time Magazine's annual Time 100 list of the most influential contemporary thinkers, leaders, artists and entertainers, and twice featured on the cover of Rolling Stone Magazine's annual "Guitar" issue.

A musician who confounds genre boundaries, John Mayer has performed and/or recorded with an extraordinary range of artists from the worlds of rock, blues, hip-hop, jazz, and country including Eric Clapton, BB King, Buddy Guy, T-Bone Burnett, Herbie Hancock, Dixie Chicks, Jay Z and Alicia Keys.

www.johnmayer.com

About Park County Community Foundation:

The Park County Community Foundation, whose mission is "Connecting caring people and resources with community needs and opportunities", will distribute proceeds from the benefit to the various area volunteer and city fire departments who lent their support and resources to fight the fire.  The foundation has established the "Pine Creek Fire Relief fund" to expedite funds to address the needs of the local departments.

SOURCE Columbia Records