John Legend To Headline Hot Stove, Cool Music
Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Music and baseball team up to hit another homerun for charity

BOSTON, MA — Music and baseball are teaming up once again this summer to hit another homerun for charity as the organizers of the Hot Stove, Cool Music concert series today announced that five-time Grammy Award Winner John Legend will headline the third annual Hot Stove, Cool Music: The Fenway Park Sessions presented by Iron Mountain, Inc. The charity fundraiser takes place on Friday, August 24 at Fenway Park.

Tickets for Hot Stove, Cool Music: The Fenway Park Sessions are $40 and are available beginning Wednesday, July 18 at noon via redsox.com or by calling the Red Sox ticket office at 877-RED-SOX9. Gates open at 4:00 p.m. and the entertainment will begin at 5:00 p.m.

The evening hopes to build on the past two summer concerts, which have raised more than $625,000 for Epstein’s Foundation to Be Named Later, a branch of the Red Sox Foundation.

In addition to Legend, this special benefit concert features performances by a host of Boston sports, music and entertainment all-stars including Buffalo Tom; Kay Hanley; French Lick featuring Boston Celtics Managing Partner & Co-Owner Wyc Grousbeck and the Hot Stove All-Stars featuring Red Sox Executive Vice President/General Manager Theo Epstein and ESPN Commentator Peter Gammons. The event will be emceed by comedian and television star Mike O’Malley.

“Hot Stove, Cool Music has become a staple on Boston’s entertainment event calendar,” said Gammons. “The concert blends two of my passions, music and baseball, while benefiting a very worthy cause. I am grateful to the entertainers, the Boston Red Sox and the sponsors who have given their time and effort to make this event possible. It is yet another homerun for local charities and the Boston sports and music community.”

Five-time Grammy winner and acclaimed singer-songwriter-pianist John Legend is quickly becoming one of today’s most popular musicians. Legend, a former child prodigy, stepped into the spotlight in 2004 with his debut studio album “Get Lifted,” which featured the hit song “Ordinary People.” His sophomore album “Once Again,” released in 2006, featured hit single “Save Room” and reached No. 3 on The Billboard 200 chart. Both albums reached the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Album charts.

“A musician of John Legend’s caliber is a great addition to the Hot Stove, Cool Music performance line-up,” Epstein said. “With the combination of baseball and music in a city that is so passionate about both, the rewards for the community are sure to be great. John Legend’s participation in this year’s event program will make it an even bigger success than ever before.”

“Iron Mountain is very proud to be associated with this event and in helping the Foundation to Be Named Later,” said Shaun Kelley, Vice President of New England for Iron Mountain, Inc. “This is a great charity focused on the youth in our community. As a Corporate Citizen headquartered in Boston, we are honored to support this worthy cause.”

Proceeds from Hot Stove, Cool Music: The Fenway Park Sessions benefit the Foundation to Be Named Later, a branch of the Red Sox Foundation. Hot Stove, Cool Music: The Fenway Park Sessions is sponsored by Iron Mountain Inc., Mintz Levin, First Act, The Boston Globe, Boston.com, Sonicbids, the Improper Bostonian Magazine and JamSpot.

About The Foundation to Be Named Later
The Foundation to Be Named Later (FTBNL) was launched in Spring of 2005 by Paul Epstein, a social worker in the Brookline Public School system, and his brother, Red Sox Executive Vice Presidnet/General Manager Theo Epstein, with the mission of raising funds and awareness for non-profit agencies in the Greater Boston area serving disadvantaged youth.

The chief fundraiser for the FTBNL is the Hot Stove, Cool Music Concert Series. In July 2005, the FTBNL benefited from the inaugural summer concert, Hot Stove, Cool Music: The Fenway Park Sessions. In October of 2005, FTBNL distributed its first round of gifts to eight non-profit agencies chosen for their outstanding work with youth. The principal beneficiaries of the FTBNL are: BELL (Building Educated Leaders for Life), The Home for Little Wanderers, Horizons for Homeless Children, Molo Care, Roxbury Youthworks, Steps to Success, Treehouse Foundation and West End House Boys and Girls Club.

About Hot Stove, Cool Music
Hot Stove, Cool Music is a bi-annual charity concert and musical variety show held at the Paradise Rock Club and Fenway Park. The event was created in December of 2000 by ESPN Commentator and former Boston Globe Baseball Columnist Peter Gammons and Boston Herald Sports Writer Jeff Horrigan. Over the past six years, Hot Stove, Cool Music has raised more than $400,000 for the Jimmy Fund and has become a staple on Boston’s entertainment calendar. The annual Hot Stove, Cool Music: The Fenway Park Sessions has raised more than $625,000 for Theo Epstein’s Foundation to Be Named Later, a branch of the Red Sox Foundation.