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Above Ground is Back to Help: After a COVID break, the annual Above Ground concert returns to the Fonda Theatre next week. Hosted as ever by Dave Navarro and Billy Morrision, other performers include Billy Idol, Perry and Etty Lau Farrell, Corey Taylor, Taylor Hawkins, Mark McGrath, Otep, Steve Stevens, and Jerry Harrison (Talking Heads). They will all be performing songs from the Sex Pistols’ Nevermind the Bollocks and Lou Reed’s Transformer.

More importantly, the concert aims to raise funds for and awareness about mental health, with all proceeds going to MusiCares.

“Suicide, depression, mental illness obviously affects people that aren’t in the music business, but we obviously were affected by Scott [Weiland], Chester [Bennington], Chris [Cornell] and others,” Morrison told us before the 2018 event. “They were all connected with MusiCares. It has the biggest reach here in America. We’ve all done much work for MusiCares before — they have helped many of our friends — but just because it’s a music organization doesn’t mean that this is not for everyone. Our message is that it’s OK to ask for help no matter who you are. But this charity just happens to be very well known with a very long reach here in America, and we want our efforts to be seen by as many people as possible.”

“My message, having gone through depression myself, is that asking for help is an incredible strength,” Navarro added. “Depression, drug addiction and suicide affect so many lives beyond just the identified patient. So asking for help is offering help to family members and friends. A simple phone call, reaching out for help, can bring peace to so many lives. Even for someone who isn’t struggling with a mental health issue — I think self-care to anybody is a great thing.”

Above Ground is Back to Help: The event takes place at 8:30 p.m. on Monday, December 20 at the Fonda Theatre.

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