Skip to content
News

Indie Stars Unite to Help School of Seven Bells’ Benjamin Curtis Pay Cancer Bills

Benjamin Curtis School of Seven Bells Cancer Benefit

School of Seven Bells guitarist Benjamin Curtis was diagnosed with cancer last February, and now an elite group of musicians are lending their talents, time, and memorabilia to help pay for treatment. Interpol’s Paul Banks and the Strokes’ Albert Hammond, Jr. will headline a New York City benefit concert called Put Your Sad Down on August 22, with Alexa Chung, Fabrizio Moretti, Devandra Banhart, and actor Danny Masterson DJing. More special guests will be announced soon.

The fundraiser will also feature a silent auction for guests and fans who can’t attend, featuring memorabilia and prizes from the Black Keys, the Strokes, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Regina Spektor, Vampire Weekend, the Hives, John Varvatos, the New York Knicks, the New York Rangers, David Cross, Aziz Ansari, Saturday Night Live, Late Night With Jimmy Fallon, and many others. The bidding starts the day of the event — which takes place at the Bowery Terrace at Bowery Hotel — and the auction will continue online for a week at Charity Buzz.

Tickets are on sale and range from $40 to $100, with the more expensive passes including a limited edition vinyl pressing of School of Seven Bells’ 2012 Put Your Sad Down EP. All proceeds from the event and auction will go directly to Curtis, who is battling T-cell Lymphoblastic Lymphoma. Though doctors say the disease is treatable, he’s had to undergo aggressive — and expensive — chemotherapy. In March, his bandmate Alejandra Deheza said Curtis was responding well to treatment and thanked fans for their well wishes. There is also a Support Benjamin Curtis fund, which you can donate to directly via PayPal.