A group of musicians will mark the 20th anniversary of Joe Strummer’s death by busking in front of a mural of The Clash frontman in New York.
Strummer died 20 years ago today (December 22) from an undiagnosed heart defect. He was 50 years old.
Dubbed the “Gates Of The West” holiday benefit, the event will take place between 6-8pm ET tonight in front of the mural of the legendary punk-rocker, which is painted on the side of East Village bar Niagara. As Consequence of Sound reports, if there is rain or snow during the event, the bash will be moved inside to Niagara’s stage.
Jesse Malin, who co-owns Niagara, will take part in the tribute alongside Gogol Bordello singer Eugene Hutz and members of The So So Glos. When the benefit wraps up, an after-party will begin at 96 Tears, Malin’s new bar next door to Niagara. Although entry to the benefit is free, attendees are encouraged to make donations to the charity Music & Memory, according to a poster.
Earlier this year, a new box set featuring music by Strummer and his post-The Clash band The Mescaleros was released. ‘Joe Strummer 002: The Mescaleros Years’ arrived on September 16 via Dark Horse Records and was the first time a comprehensive anthology of the band’s work had been collated.
The box set featured 15 rare and unreleased tracks, alongside some of the first demos Strummer wrote for the group and remastered versions of the band’s three studio albums – ‘Rock Art And The X-Ray Style (1999), ‘Global A Go-Go’ (2001) and ‘Streetcore’ (2003), the latter of which was released posthumously.
Prior to that release, The Clash shared a new special edition of ‘Combat Rock’ in May of this year, featuring 12 additional tracks compiled by the surviving members of the iconic band. Their collaborations with the late Ranking Roger also received their first-ever official release within a separate two-track EP.
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