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Harry Shearer & Judith Owen: A Very Virtual ‘Christmas Without Tears’

December 1, 2020
HARRY SHEARER & JUDITH OWEN PRESENT
A VERY VIRTUAL ‘CHRISTMAS WITHOUT TEARS’
(a seasonal variety show benefiting the US & UK music community)
December 11th premiere FRIDAY Webcast Weekend
Nugs.net  / Nugs.TV
An antidote to the most stressful of seasons, the Annual Christmas Without Tears Variety Charity live program goes virtual for its 15th year.
“The show started as a party in our home to try to comfort Judith, a Welsh woman prone to melancholia, who could not stand that the fact that Christmas in Southern California was about 78 degrees and sunny,” as Harry Shearer tells it.
What began as a humble holiday house party to chase away Judith’s yuletide blues became a charity event and performance in 2005 when they staged it to aid the people of New Orleans after Katrina. Over the years, live shows in London, New York, New Orleans, Chicago and Los Angeles raised funds for selected charities benefitting for those who are at risk including Elton John’s Aids Foundation, Our Friends Place. West London Mission, Snow City Arts, The New Orleans Musicians Clinic among others.
The show has featured invited performers and surprise guests who drop into Harry and Judith’s onstage living room and share a song or a joke to bring the holiday spirit to all. Comics, magicians, and even circus acts have been welcome additions, adding the perfect mix that makes this a true variety show.
Hosted by Harry Shearer and Judith Owen
CWT 2020’s with guest video appearances by:
Richard Thompson
Jon Cleary
Julia Fordham
Steve Lukather (featuring Ringo Starr)
Topsy Chapman & Solid Harmony
Jeff Goldblum
The Stanton Moore Trio
Howard Levy
Trixie Minx
Paranormal phenomenon Clinton Baptiste
Paul Shaffer
Amy Engelhardt (the Bobs)
David Blenkhorn
Miss Hope Springs
Davell Crawford
Evan Christopher & David Torkanowsky
The Orion Orchestra
Donald Fagen
Bryan Batt
John Goodman
Chris Difford
Kermit Ruffins
Tommy Foster with Scott Nesbit
Phil DeGruy
Leland Sklar
House band:
CJ Vanston
And more surprises….
CWT 2020 will be webcast on Nugs.net
December 11th premiere FRIDAY from 2PM PT
* your ticket will allow you to watch the webcast as many times as you want
all weekend from the time you activate the stream until Sunday Midnight PT
For Tickets: $9.99 donation
Nugs.net  Nugs.TV
Additional CWT donations to: www.gofundme.com/CWT2020
*****
This year benefiting US and UK music community that has been devastated due to the closure of live shows and venues.
·     NIVA (National Independent Venues Association – #SaveOurStages USA)
·     The New Orleans Musicians Clinic (USA)
·     Help Musicians (UK)
·     Music Venue Trust #SaveOurVenues (UK)
In years past ‘Christmas Without Tears’ has welcomed Rob Brydon, Weird Al Yankovic, Tim Minchin, Jane Lynch, Richard Thompson, John Goodman, Fred Willard, Matt Lucas, Donald Fagen, Catherine O’Hara, Alfie Boe, Maureen Lipman, Julia Fordham, Alan Cumming, Claire Martin, Stephen Merchant, Christopher Guest, Chris Difford, Graham Gouldman, Elizabeth McGovern, Alex Lowe, Adam Hills, Clare Teal and many more.
Beneficiaries:
National Independent Venue Association – USA #saveourstages
NIVA’s mission is to preserve and nurture the ecosystem of independent venues and promoters throughout the United States.
These entertainment hubs are critical to their local economies and tax bases as employers, tourism destinations, and revenue generators for neighboring businesses such as restaurants, hotels, and retail. Independent venues exist in every state across the country; they were the first to be closed, they will be the last to open. The economic recovery process will extend past just reopening the front doors, requiring solutions unique to the industry.
The mission of the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA) is to preserve and nurture the ecosystem of independent live music venues and promoters throughout the United States.
This is our final push to Congress and there won’t be another opportunity. We NEED the #SaveOurStages Act passed in order to keep independent venues nationwide from closing permanently. Please help us #SaveOurStages now.
Thank you – Rev. Moose and Stephen Sternschein
*****
Music Venue Trust (UK) #saveourvenues
Music Venue Trust is a UK Registered Charity which acts to protect, secure and improve UK Grassroots Music Venues for the benefit of venues, communities and upcoming artists.
The Music Venue Trust represents 670 independent UK music venues and as a result of the current ‘lockdown’ and social distancing policies the prospects for many are grim.
The situation is dire, and it is now incumbent on music fans and the wider industry to do something about it.
Put bluntly, without these venues the opportunities for artists and audiences to connect in a meaningful way at a local level will simply disappear in a lot of cases.
And if they go they will never come back.
Thank you – Mark Davyd, Beverly Whitrick, Toni Coe-Brooker
UK Charity number: 1159846
@musicvenuetrust #saveourvenues
*****
The New Orleans Musicians Clinic (USA)
Founded by a coalition of music advocates in 1998, the New Orleans Musicians’ Clinic (NOMC) became the 1st and only medical clinic for musicians, performing artists, and cultural workers in the United States. The NOMC has provided comprehensive medical care to performers and tradition bearers in New Orleans for over two decades, regardless of their insurance status or ability to pay.
Due to COVID-19, most musicians and performers have been unemployed since March, with no end in sight. Since then, the New Orleans Musicians’ Clinic & Assistance Foundation hasn’t missed a beat. We’ve adapted to combat the pandemic’s extensive damage to our music and cultural community by offering local musicians both in-person and telehealth medical solutions, appointment-based COVID-19 testing, free food access, expanded mental health resources, musician-specific PPE, and more. With your support, we can continue these initiatives and help ready our city’s culture makers for whatever comes next.
Support our mission to break down the barriers standing between musicians’ access to the health care they deserve and make sure New Orleans music survives and thrives! Learn more at www.neworleansmusiciansclinic.org
NOMC Social Media Links:
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Help Musicians (UK)
Help Musicians is an independent UK charity for professional musicians of all genres, from starting out through to retirement.
For nearly 100 years, we have been providing a broad spectrum of help, support and opportunities to empower musicians of all ages, at any stage of their career, from times of great need like presently, to times of opportunity.
Musicians have been hit hard by the impact of the Coronavirus, and in response to the pandemic, Help Musicians has supported over 18,000 musicians with over £11m in financial hardship funding across the UK. The Fund offers a one-off payment of £500 to help alleviate immediate financial pressures.
While opportunities for musicians to earn are still severely limited, we understand that more support is needed to ensure the thousands who are falling through the gaps in government support, or unable to survive on what they receive, can get through the coming months. We have just launched phase 3 of our hardship funding, a crucial lifeline for musicians at this time.
Thank you –  Renata Pucci – UK Charity 228089
@HelpMusiciansUK #saveourvenues
Facebook: HelpMusiciansUK
Twitter: HelpMusiciansUK
Instagram: HelpMusicians
*****
Webcast hosted by:
Nugs.net
Founded in 1997 as a fan site for downloading live music, nugs.net has evolved into the leading source for official live music from the largest touring artists in the world. Metallica, Pearl Jam, Phish, Jack White, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Bruce Springsteen and many others distribute recordings of every concert they play throughnugs.net. The platform offers downloads, CDs, webcasts, and the only streaming service dedicated to live music, delivering exclusive live content to millions of fans daily.  nugs.net is available on iOS, Android, AppleTV, Sonos, BluOS, and Desktop. Visit nugs.net or get the app at nugs.net/app. A 30-day free trial is available.

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