by Ali Duff | April 20, 2020

L-R: Chris Collingwood, the late Adam Schlesinger, Jody Porter, and Brian Young. / Photo courtesy of BMI

The three remaining members of the band Fountains of Wayne are reuniting for a benefit show aimed at both raising money for COVID-19 relief in the New Jersey area, as well as paying tribute to their late bandmate, Fountains of Wayne co-founder Adam Schlesinger. Schlesinger passed away on April 1st, 2020 at the age of 52 from complications of the coronavirus. This is the first time in 7 years that Fountains of Wayne has performed live.

Fountains of Wayne, which consists of lead singer/rhythm guitarist Chris Collingwood, lead guitarist Jody Porter, and drummer Brian Young, are teaming up with fellow New Jersey native Sharon Van Etten to perform as part of the New Jersey Pandemic Relief Fund’s JERSEY 4 JERSEY event. Van Etten, known for her solo work as a singer-songwriter, will provide backing vocals and play bass.

Sharon Van Etten / Photo courtesy of DCist

In a quote from an article released by Stereogum, Van Etten said she was proud to join Fountains of Wayne in Schlesinger’s honor, calling him an “incredible” songwriter. An accompanying statement from Fountains of Wayne’s Chris Collingwood said that they were “honored” to be part of the Jersey for Jersey benefit, grateful to have Van Etten with them, and believed that Schlesinger would be proud the band was raising money for their home state. For their part in the concert, Van Etten and Fountains of Wayne will be performing the song “Hackensack”, which appeared on the latter’s 2003 album Welcome Interstate Managers, and was written by Schlesinger.

The livestream event will take place this Wednesday, April 22nd, beginning at 4 p.m. EST, and will be shown worldwide on Apple Music and Apple TV. It will also be broadcast multiple times on Sirius XM E Street Radio, as well as on many television and radio channels. For more information on the event and how how to watch it, visit https://njprf.org/.