AP
The GRAMMY Foundation is known for its youth education programs, but on Feb. 9 a different philanthropic effort was showcased. One Night Only: A Celebration of the Live Music Experience, held at the Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills, Calif., proved that music preservation and concert events are still alive and thriving.
The Foundation operates the Music Preservation Project, giving grants and cultivating its Living Histories archive by restoring aged recordings and preserving their cultural legacy. One Night Only took attendees through a musical history tour of concerts past and present.
Julian Ring interviews Bret Michaels
Mavis Staples and Ledisi (who is nominated for three GRAMMYs this year) showed their funkier side on several tunes, including Staples's own "I'll Take You There." A Fine Frenzy and Shelby Lynne played their own haunting, sparsely arranged ballads.
Some of the night's biggest highlights were tunes performed by guitarists Robert Cray and Jonny Lang. Cray's straightforward blues was a crowd-pleaser, while Lang covered Bob Dylan's "Like A Rolling Stone" with a heavier touch.
"The Voice" finalist Beverly McClellan brought attitude to her set, which also featured Lang. Marc Martel was a dead ringer for Freddie Mercury during his medley of Queen tunes.
Singer/songwriter L.P., though short in stature, filled the theater with her voice, especially on Radiohead's anthem "Creep." To close out the evening, Bret Michaels sang and played harmonica on several high-energy songs that had the crowd on their feet.
Between each set, Osbourne, Vai, and several members of the GRAMMY Foundation spoke about the unique aspects of the concert experience. Short videos and slideshows featured interesting stories from industry personnel.
If support for music preservation wasn't apparent before, it certainly was everywhere during One Night Only.
Julian Ring is a GRAMMY Camp music journalism student who was selected to cover GRAMMY Week 2012 as part of the GRAMMY Camp - Jazz Session media team. To find out more about GRAMMY Camp and to apply for this summer, go to GRAMMYintheschools.com. Deadline is March 31, 2012.