Hope Concert 8

Bon Jovi, Southside added to Bandiera's Hope Concert

Where there are friends, there is Hope.



The lineup for the Bobby Bandiera and Friends Hope Concert 8, a fundraiser for Jersey Shore charities to be held Wednesday, Dec. 23, at the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank, has been announced and you might recognize a few of the names: Jon Bon Jovi, Southside Johnny Lyon, Gary U.S. Bonds and John Cafferty.

Bon Jovi, who has a home in Middletown, frequently appears at Bandiera's Hope Concerts and did so last year by singing "Who Says You Can't Go Home," "I Wish Everyday Could Be Like Christmas" and "The Letter," as a tribute to Joe Cocker, who had just passed away.

Bandiera has played in Bon Jovi and Jon Bon Jovi's side band, the Kings of Suburbia. Bandiera is also a former member of Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes.

The concert will benefit 180 Turning Lives Around, a private, nonprofit charitable organization dedicated to ending domestic and sexual violence in the local community, and the Visiting Nurse Association Health Group, New Jersey’s largest nonprofit visiting nurse association and visiting physician service.

Bobby Bandiera and Jon Bon Jovi at last year's Hope Concert in Red Bank. (Photo: Noah K. Murray)

Also, $10 from every ticket sold will go toward Red Bank Middle School’s new artist initiative in collaboration with the Basie, which works to bring the arts to every child.

"It brings the arts into the core curriculum," said Jon Vena, director of marketing and public relations for the Basie. "There are studies left and right that says the arts can accentuate the learning of other subjects."

Tickets for Hope Concert 8 range from $50 to $500, and are on sale now through www.thebasie.org, by calling 732-842-9000 or by visiting the Basie box office, 99 Monmouth Street.

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