Country veteran Emmylou Harris will receive the Vietnam Veterans of America
Foundation’s (VVAF) Patrick J. Leahy Humanitarian Award for her efforts to focus attention on the plight of landmine survivors. She’ll be presented with the award during a gala Nov. 12 benefit at Washington, D.C.’s Birchmere Music Hall.
“Emmylou has used two of her greatest gifts — an extraordinary voice and unsurpassed musical talent — to tell the world we don’t need landmines,” VVAF president Bobby Muller said in a statement. Added said Senator Leahy, for whom the award is named, “Emmylou Harris embodies humanitarian activism. Her humanitarian efforts have greatly advanced the case against landmines, raising awareness for the cause and support for its victims.”
The event will feature performances by Mary Chapin Carpenter, Guy Clark, Rodney Crowell, Steve Earle, Nanci Griffith, Patty Griffin, Buddy & Julie Miller, Jamie O’Hara, and John Prine. For ticket information visit the VVAF Web site or call 202-557-7586. Proceeds will support VVAF’s post-war assistance programs.
Harris will once again be on board for this year’s VVAF Concerts for a Landmine Free World, along with Carpenter, Griffin, and Bruce Cockburn. The 2002 version of the awareness and fundraising tour will take place Nov. 6-10 with performances in Raleigh and Asheville, N.C., Atlanta, Knoxville, Tenn., and Birmingham, Ala.
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— Barry A. Jeckell, N.Y.
Tommy Boy Records has formed Tommy Boy Films, which will develop and distribute films, original TV series, and DVDs, Billboard Bulletin reports. The division’s first major release will be the Dubtitled-created DVD series “Kung Faux,” which features half-hour adaptations of kung-fu movies with new music and voice-over dialog from hip-hop artists such as De La Soul, Queen Latifah, Masta Ace, and Guru.The first two-episode volume is due in January; a total of six volumes will be released throughout 2003, as well as a boxed set with all the episodes in November. Each disc will include commercials, as on a TV episode, from companies including Levi’s, Target, and Showtime.
— Jill Kipnis, L.A.
Performers Marc Anthony, Beverly Sills, and Dionne Warwick will be among those honored Dec. 11 with Heroes Awards by the New York chapter of the Recording Academy. The event, which will include presentations by Mariah Carey and Atlantic Records founder/chairman Ahmet Ertegun, will also present Heroes Awards to the songwriting team of Burt Bacharach and Hal David and J Records founder Clive Davis.Describing the award as “the highest honor we bestow,” songwriter/N.Y. chapter president Phil Galdston said in a statement that each of the recipients “has created his or her own unique legacy in the music industry, and each has contributed significantly both to the music community and to the community at large.”
Proceeds from the event at New York’s Roosevelt Hotel will be dedicated to the education and community outreach programs of the Academy’s New York Chapter. BMG is the presenting sponsor of this year’s affair; ASCAP, BMI, and the Toys ‘R Us Foundation are participating sponsors.
— Barry A. Jeckell, N.Y.