Major League Baseball will host Missouri native and nine-time Grammy Award winner Sheryl Crow for the 2009 Major League Baseball All-Star Charity Concert presented by Pepsi on Saturday, July 11 under the iconic Gateway Arch at the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial.
The concert, which will be free to fans, is the culmination of a day-long celebration of baseball history and will feature a $1 million donation by Major League Baseball to Stand Up To Cancer. In addition, fans will be able to make donations to Stand Up To Cancer after the concert. The concert will be streamed live on MLB.com, the official website of Major League Baseball, and fans watching the live stream will be encouraged to donate to Stand Up To Cancer.
The 2009 Major League Baseball All-Star Charity Concert presented by Pepsi is part of a series of charitable events and activities leading up to the MLB All-Star Game. This year’s All-Star activities are focused on MLB and its business partners giving back to important charitable causes and celebrating the importance of community service. In addition to Pepsi, MLB sponsors Budweiser, Sharp and Taco Bell are also supporting this event.
The concert will begin at 8:00 p.m. CT on Saturday, July 11. Prior to the concert, the St. Louis Cardinals vs. Chicago Cubs game on FOX will be aired live on big screen televisions at the concert location for fans to view.
Major League Baseball has responded to United States of America President Barack Obama's call for community service through “United We Serve,” a program which begins today to encourage all Americans to be part of building a new foundation for America by engaging in sustained and meaningful community service. The initiative will focus on four key areas: energy and the environment, health care, education, and community renewal. The concert will be an environmentally focused event featuring the Major League Baseball Green Team, a group that will collect recyclable bottles and cans at the show. Pepsi and Aquafina are supplying more than 100 recycling bins that will be located around the Arch grounds. Major League Baseball has a relationship with the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), who advises MLB on ways for the League and its Clubs to implement practices and policies that are environmentally-friendly.
“I am honored to team up with Major League Baseball to come home and perform a free show that will support Stand Up To Cancer, an organization with the noble and ambitious goal of eradicating all forms of cancer,” said Crow, a cancer survivor. “The dedication of Major League Baseball to being a part of the environmental movement gives me the chance to put on a show while supporting two causes that I feel strongly about.”
“Sheryl Crow is a wonderful performer who deserves enormous credit for using her fame to shine a light on causes that are important to the health and welfare of our country,” said Baseball Commissioner Allan H. (Bud) Selig. “As a social institution, Major League Baseball will use this concert and the All-Star festivities to entertain our fans while recognizing the importance of addressing important social needs, and we thank Pepsi for making this great event happen.”
“All of us at Stand Up To Cancer are very grateful to Sheryl Crow and Major League Baseball, for their dedication and support in the fight against cancer,” said Sue Schwartz, member of the Stand Up to Cancer Executive Leadership Council. “We are thrilled to have a tremendous platform like the All-Star Game to invigorate and activate the public in the fight against this vicious disease.”
“Pepsi is fortunate to have the opportunity to merge two of America’s favorite pastimes — baseball and music — into one event,” said Jeff Dubiel, VP of Sports Marketing, Pepsi-Cola North America Beverages. “By teaming up with Major League Baseball and Sheryl Crow, we’re not only giving fans an amazing show, but we’re raising awareness and funding for an important cause — Stand Up To Cancer.”
Free-spirited, fearless and fierce, Sheryl Crow has garnered nine Grammys, performed duets with musical luminaries such as Sting and Mick Jagger, released seven studio albums which sold more than 35 million records worldwide, and launched her very own clothing line Bootheel Trading Co., is a cancer survivor and passionate humanitarian and has performed for President Obama. From humble beginnings as a jingle and back-up singer, Crow has reached the pinnacle of professional solo success. Crow explores both personal and global issues on her most recent LP, Detours (produced by Bill Bottrell, who last worked with Crow on her 1993 debut, the seven-times platinum Tuesday Night Music Club).
In the span of just a year, Stand Up To Cancer raised more than $100 million due in large part to a historic hour-long program simultaneously broadcast on ABC, CBS and NBC, September 5, 2008. In May 2009, SU2C announced its first funding of more than $73 million to five dream team collaborations comprised of more than 38 principal investigators from over 20 leading institutions, with 337 individuals participating in total.
