Harry Shearer and Judith Owen announce Christmas livestream in aid of UK and US live music, with Steve Lukather, Jeff Goldblum and more set to appear
The stream will support four causes in aid of musicians and venues.
Image: Scott Dudelson / Getty
Harry Shearer and Judith Owen have announced the 15th iteration of their annual charity live show, the Christmas Without Tears charity variety show. This year, the focus is on four causes in aid of musicians and venues in the UK and USA, providing aid for both as livelihoods are threatened by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The show will feature a number of notable guests, with musicians, actors and comedians dropping in to the live living room to “share a song or a joke to bring the holiday spirit to all.” This year, fans can look forward to appearances from Toto guitarist Steve Lukather (along with Ringo Starr), Steely Dan’s Donald Fagen, Squeeze’s Chris Difford and actor and jazz musician Jeff Goldblum – to name just a few.
This year, the four organisations being supported are all benefiting either venues or musicians in the wake of the pandemic. They are USA’s NIVA (the National Independent Venues Association) and The New Orleans Musicians Clinic, and the UK’s Help Musicians and the Music Venue Trust.
Christmas Without Tears 2020 will be broadcast over at Nugs.net, on 11 December at 2 PM PT. Tickets are a $9.99 donation, which allows you to watch the stream as many times as you want until 13 December.
The event, while it started as a house party in Shearer and Owen’s home, was turned into a charity event in 2005, when it was hosted in aid of Louisiana in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. It has happened every year since, however, like most events in 2020 has gone virtual for the first time this year.
Shearer is best known for his role in the band Spinal Tap as bassist Derek Smalls, and as part of the voice cast of The Simpsons, playing Ned Flanders, Principal Skinner and more. Judith Owen is a singer-songwriter whose first album, Emotions on a Postcard, was released in 1996.
You can find out more about Christmas Without Tears at the event’s GoFundMe page here.
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