The Los Angeles-based nonprofit Wild Honey Foundation will pay tribute to the late singer-songwriter Warren Zevon in a benefit concert to be headlined by close friends and musical collaborators Jackson Browne and Jorge Calderón at the historic United Theater on Broadway in Downtown Los Angeles on October 24, 2025.
A Wild Honey joint presentation with the Zevon Family, the “Join Me In L.A.: The Songs of Warren Zevon” fundraiser will feature more than two dozen classic and rare Zevon songs, faithfully performed live by the Wild Honey Orchestra under the direction of Jordan Summers and Nick Vincent.
As of this September 22 update, noted L.A. music journalist, author, and previous Wild Honey event host Chris Morris will return to emcee on the night of October 24.
Morris will handle the intros for special guests including including a number of folks who closely collaborated with Zevon, among them Browne, Calderón (his frequent co-songwriter and producer), and band members Leland Sklar, Rick Marotta, Bob Glaub, and Matt Cartsonis.
In addition to Browne and Calderón, guest singers will include Dennis Diken (the Smithereens), Fountains of Wayne, Phil Cody, Shooter Jennings, Marshall Crenshaw, Billy Valentine, Susan Cowsill, Adam Weiner (Low Cut Connie), John Wesley Harding, Leslie Mendelson, Steve Wynn (Dream Syndicate), Chris Stills, Inara George, Eleni Mandell, Scott McCaughey (The Minus 5/Baseball Project), Steve Stanley, All Day Sucker, and Jordan Zevon.
Along with leaders Summers and Vincent, the Wild Honey Orchestra lineup will be a a rotating ensemble including Rob Bonfiglio, Willie Aron, Jim Laspesa, Leland Sklar, Kaitlin Wolfberg, Lyn Bertles, Derrick Anderson, Bob Glaub, David Goodstein, Rick Marotta, Nelson Bragg, Andrew Sandoval, Morley Bartnoff, Fernando Perdomo, Matt Carsonis, Geoff Pearlman, Tara Austin, Kristi Callan, Dan Rothchild, Emily Elkin, Dan McGough, Bill Bergman, and Jen Condos.
Wild Honey and the Zevon family will donate proceeds from the United Theater show to a pair of organizations: the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) and The Ed Asner Family Center for support of the autism-neurodivergent community, according to Paul Rock, Wild Honey’s co-founder, executive director, and concert booker-producer.
Zevon died of mesothelioma, a form of lung cancer caused by exposure to asbestos, on September 7, 2003, at age 56. His son, Jordan, Rock said, “is the national spokesperson for this important cause, ADAO, in memory of his father’s tragic early death from this affliction.”
Wild Honey Foundation friend Matthew Asner heads the L.A.-based The Ed Asner Family Center, “a hugely important social center for the autism-neurodivergent community,” Rock said.
Rock’s son, Jacob, the gifted and celebrated composer of the modern symphony “Unforgettable Sunrise,” completed and world-premiered in 2023 when he was 19, is non-verbally autistic. The symphony’s performance was a tremendous artistic success and encouraged the young composer to create new works.
“Matthew was a major supporter of ‘Unforgettable Sunrise’ and Wild Honey for many years,” Rock said. “We are thrilled to be collaborating with him.”
The late October benefit concert fortuitously precedes Zevon’s long-overdue and posthumous induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a “Musical Influence” on November 8.
“Warren Zevon was an artist’s artist,” his Rock Hall inductee bio reads. “One of the most talented and significant singer-songwriters to emerge in the 1970s, Zevon wrote poetic but offbeat songs, often with darkly humorous and acerbic lyrics, and delivered them with a dry wit and a twisted energy like no other performer could. Throughout his career, Zevon built a devoted fan base and earned the respect of his greatest peers, including Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, and Neil Young.
“Trained as a classical pianist, Zevon began his career in the 1960s as a composer of commercial jingles, a writer of pop songs (including two recorded by The Turtles), and a singer in the folk-pop duo Lyme & Cybelle, followed by several years doing session work and touring with musicians including the Everly Brothers.
“Zevon’s self-titled album, released in 1976 and produced by his friend Jackson Browne, won glowing reviews from critics and admiration from artists including Linda Ronstadt, who covered four of its songs.
“The follow-up album, ‘Excitable Boy’ (1978), featured the smash hit ‘Werewolves of London,’ which climbed the singles charts and earned Zevon a cult following that remained for his entire career, which spanned more than a dozen critically acclaimed albums, the last, ‘The Wind,’ completed and released shortly before his death in 2003.”
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Jordan Summers’ Zevon Connection
Jordan Summers, co-directing Wild Honey Orchestra for this gig, has a direct connection to the Zevon family, personally and musically, as noted in a WHO news release:
“When the P.E. coach called roll on the first day of 10th grade, two students answered ‘here’ to the name ‘Jordan.’ I was Jordan Summers, he was Jordan Zevon — Warren’s son. Despite my alphabetical advantage, we became instant friends and formed our first band a month later.
“Warren Zevon showed up to our first gig that year at Madame Wong’s. My best friend’s dad taught me ‘Werewolves of London’ over the phone. We went to his shows and recording sessions, and he’d come to our rehearsals and, one time, played my keyboard. My keyboard never forgave me for that.
“I was with Jordan through his father’s diagnosis, the day he passed, the funeral, and beyond. We went on to write and record Jordan’s solo record, play Letterman, and record ‘Studebaker’ on the ‘Enjoy Every Sandwich’ tribute album with Waddy Wachtel, Jorge Calderón, and David Lindley at Jackson Browne’s studio.
“We’ve continued Warren’s legacy through performances supporting ADAO’s mesothelioma awareness efforts, where Jordan now serves as national spokesman.
“I’ve been fortunate to be part of the Wild Honey Orchestra for over a decade now. It’s the highlight of my year every time they mount a show with the best musicians and people in Los Angeles. They’d wanted to do a Warren Zevon tribute for years, so when this opportunity came up, it felt inevitable.
“Getting to serve as musical director alongside my friend Nick Vincent — another alphabetically disadvantaged soul with incomparable talent — is absolutely incredible. The Wild Honey shows are a happening that enlightens both the musicians and audience about the music of the artists they honor. This time it’s that and more for us.
“It’s also the pre-party for many of Warren Zevon’s former bandmates, partners, family, and current devotees to play him into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame two weeks following the show.”
Paul Rock Interview on Wild Honey Warren Zevon Tribute
In an exclusive Zoom interview with Stephen K. Peeples on August 13, Rock detailed how the benefit concert’s production progressed from concept to ticket sales; why Wild Honey will stage the show at the United Theater on Broadway (previous concert fundraisers were staged at the Alex Theater in Glendale); why Zevon’s Rock Hall induction is bittersweet; and why the challenges of producing the concert were such that he almost pulled the plug more than once in the several months it took to make it happen.
Rock also noted that Zevon and Wild Honey fans can witness one or both of the show’s dress rehearsals on a “fly on the wall” basis by donating cash to the fund that helps cover venue costs and travel and lodging expenses for the guest players who live outside the L.A. area.
“Donations of $200 will receive access to a single dress rehearsal for one person on October 22 or 23,” Rock confirmed in a follow-up email. “Donations of $300 and above will receive two rehearsals for one person or one rehearsal for two individuals. For $500 and above, you get both rehearsals for two people.”
He emphasized that only 50 fans will be admitted to each dress rehearsal.
“All dress rehearsal passes come with a pre-sale code,” Rock said. “As in the past, this is a ‘fly-on-the-wall’ situation, not a chance to interfere with the artists and crew’s efforts to prepare for the show. Wild Honey dress rehearsals have provided many thrilling musical moments in the past, and 2025 will no doubt do the same.”
Get VIP access to the dress rehearsals here, tickets for the show here, and helpful nearby parking info here.
“We are a grassroots, volunteer organization,” Rock said of the Wild Honey Foundation. “Nobody is on salary, but we pour hours of effort into these huge shows because we love the music and the artists that we present. We also want to make the world a slightly better place by inspiring everyone to keep working for a more compassionate society through the organizations that benefit from our shows, even when things look their bleakest. Most importantly, we always deliver a great show that you won’t soon forget.”
As a bonus later in his Zoom conversation, Rock also flashes back on previous Wild Honey fundraisers, which have primarily benefited autism research and treatment (concerts have included tributes to The Beach Boys, The Beatles, The Kinks, The Band, Buffalo Springfield, Big Star, The Lovin’ Spoonful, and more) and provides an update on the musical projects his son Jacob is working on now as the follow-up to his breakthrough “Unforgettable Sunrise.”
Watch the interview (note that the musical lineup has evolved since the August 13 interview):
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More About the Wild Honey Foundation
Since 1994, Wild Honey Foundation, a 501(c)(3), non-profit, has produced concerts, film screenings, online fundraisers, and live stream events to benefit autism treatment/research and members of the music community-in-need.
Wild Honey is a grassroots, volunteer organization dedicated to passing on the passion, creativity, and idealism found in rock, rhythm & blues, folk, classical, and pop music to future generations through cultural events of all types.
Past Wild Honey Foundation shows with original artists: Big Star #1 Record (2022, with Jody Stephens); Lovin’ Spoonful (2020, with John Sebastian, Steve Boone, and Joe Butler); The Kinks (1995, with Dave Davies); Buffalo Springfield (2018, with Richie Furay); The Band (2017, with Garth Hudson); Beach Boys (1994 with Brian Wilson and 2016 with Al Jardine).
Other Wild Honey featured performers since 1994: Lenny Kaye, Alex Chilton, Jackson Browne, the Bangles, Marshall Crenshaw, Weird Al, Micky Dolenz, Dave Alvin, The dB’s, Peter Buck/Mike Mills of R.E.M., Terry Reid, Claudia Lennear, Al Stewart, Denny Laine, Matthew Sweet, the Muffs, Gary Wright, Carlene Carter, Dan Wilson, and more.
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Grammy nominee and Santa Clarita journalist Stephen K. Peeples was raised by career newspaper journalists and music-lovers in suburban Chicago, small-town Neenah, Wisconsin, North Miami, Florida, and Los Angeles. His Grammy nomination was for co-producing the “Monterey International Pop Festival” box set with Geoff Gans, and Lou Adler the exec producer (Rhino/MIPF, 1992). • An L.A.-area resident since mid-1968, Peeples was the original, award-winning producer of “The Lost Lennon Tapes” radio series for Westwood One from 1988-1990, and had been writer/producer of hundreds of WW1 programs in the preceding five years. • His first music industry gig was as an Associate Editor (Radio, West Coast Country) at Cash Box magazine in Hollywood in May 1975. He went on to be a Media Relations-PR executive for Capitol Records (1977-1980), Elektra/Asylum Records (1980-1983), and Rhino Entertainment (1992-1998). • Moving online, he was Rhino’s first web editor (1996-1998), then elevated to content editor of Warner Music Group websites (1998-2001). • Based in the Santa Clarita Valley just north of L.A., Peeples was the award-winning Online Editor for The Signal newspaper’s website from 2007-2011, and wrote-hosted-co-produced SCVTV’s WAVE-nominated “House Blend” local music TV show from 2010-2015 (archived online and still airing in reruns). • He was SVP/New Media for Rare Cool Stuff Unltd. from 2010-2016 and a News Editor at SCVTV’s SCVNews.com from 2017-2021. Peeples semi-retired in April 2021 to work on book projects and mine his memorabilia archives, but continues to post occasionally. • For more info and original stories, visit https://stephenkpeeples.com/. For exclusive behind-the-scenes interviews, subscribe to Peeples’ YouTube channel.
Article: Warren Zevon Friends Jackson Browne, Jorge Calderón Topline Tribute Concert Oct. 24
Author: Stephen K. Peeples
Category: News and Reviews
Article Source: StephenKPeeples.com
