DMB Playing Live 8 in Philly

By Waldo Jaquith
Today brought the announcement of Bob Geldof's "Live 8," the follow-up to his 1985 Live Aid, which raised money for famine relief in Ethiopia, and with it the news that Dave Matthews Band will be performing at the event. As with Live Aid, which took place in several venues around the world, Live 8 will take place simultaneously in at least five cities (London, Berlin, Philadelphia, Rome, and Paris), with the goal of holding concerts in all eight nations that make up the Group of 8 (or "G8"), which also includes Canada, Japan, and Russia. DMB will be performing at the Philadelphia portion of the July 2 event, along with Will Smith, Puff Daddy, Jay-Z, Stevie Wonder, and Bon Jovi. July 2 is also the second day of DMB's two-night stand at Saratoga Performing Arts Center, in New York -- presumably, they'll simply end up playing two shows that day. The goal of the event is to raise awareness of poverty in G8 nations, since the G8 is scheduled to meet a few days later in Britain. The AP has details. Thanks to Lewis Ostrander for the news.