03 Jan Mike Garson On January 8th’s Star-Studded “A Bowie Celebration” Livestream Event, David Bowie’s Genius & More

A Bowie Celebration: Just For One Day! is a star-studded, global streaming event kicking off on January 8, 2021 beginning at 6:00 PST, as hosted by Mike Garson, David Bowie’s longest standing band member. The stream will bring together a dazzling array of artists who worked with Bowie, or were deeply influenced by him and his work, for a celebration on what would have been Bowie’s birthday and weekend of the 5th anniversary of Bowie’s unexpected early 2016 passing.

Artists recently added to the once-in-a-lifetime lineup include the GRAMMY-winning British music icons Duran Duran, vocal sensation Adam Lambert, U.K. chart-topping performer YUNGBLUD, 3-time Grammy nominee Andra Day, actor/musician Michael C. Hall, Mott The Hoople leader Ian Hunter, singer-songwriter and virtuoso guitarist Anna Calvi, award-winning musician Atticus Ross, Kind Heaven Orchestra vocalist Etty Lau Farrell, and How To Destroy Angels vocalist Mariqueen Maandig Reznor. That stacked lineup joins Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails), William Corgan (The Smashing Pumpkins), Oscar-winning actor Gary Oldman, Gavin Rossdale (Bush), Perry Farrell (Jane’s Addiction), Joe Elliott (Def Leppard), Macy Gray, Ian Astbury (The Cult), Lzzy Hale (Halestorm), Gail Ann Dorsey (David Bowie, Lenny Kravitz), Bernard Fowler (Rolling Stones), Corey Glover (Living Color), Tony-winner Lena Hall, Peter Frampton, Henry Hey, vocal phenom Judith Hill (Grammy winner for 20 Feet From Stardom), Rick Wakeman (Yes) and Charlie Sexton (Bob Dylan). And that is just the start of the lineup of performers.

Far, far more produced than what many artists have presented as “livestream concerts” during the COVID-19 pandemic, this concert will offer over 3 hours of music. Ultimate Ears Pro has partnered with Rolling Live Studios and A Bowie Celebration to provide artists with the industry standard in-ear monitoring solution for these live performances. The show will broadcast live on RollingLiveStudios.com via Lucra, a new live streaming platform built by Streamlabs. Produced by Mike Garson in partnership with Stacey Sher and Kerry Brown together with Rolling Live Studios, A Bowie Celebration will be donating $2 per ticket purchase to the Save The Children organization. The Save The Children charity was important to Bowie and notably the beneficiary of funds raised from his 50th Birthday Concert held in 1997 at a sold-out Madison Square Garden, which featured many of the very artists who will be featured on January 8th during this special global streaming event.

The aforementioned Mike Garson may be best known for his working relationship with David Bowie — which began in 1972 for Bowie’s first performances in the United States, and concluded in 2006 when Garson accompanied Bowie for his final public American performance — but his touring and/or recording credits also include Nine Inch Nails, Smashing Pumpkins, St. Vincent, Stan Getz, Seal and Dillinger Escape Plan. In other words, Garson is comfortable and well-regarded within the realms of jazz, classical, pop and rock alike. You name it, he can play, arrange and/or produce it.

On January 3, 2021, I had the pleasure of speaking with Mike Garson via Zoom, as embedded below. Beyond A Bowie Celebration, we discussed various facets of his career including his New York roots and what more people ought to know about David Bowie. Additional information about January 8th’s A Bowie Celebration can be found via www.rollinglivestudios.com/bowie and www.facebook.com/ABowieCelebration, while Mike Garson lives online at www.mikegarson.com.