Why City Of Hope’s Spirit Of Life Gala Is One Of The Top Music Industry Events Of Every Year

City of Hope’s annual Spirit of Life fundraiser is regularly circled as one of the most anticipated nights of the year on the music industry calendar.

Over the previous 48 events, as City of Hope has honored some of the industry’s biggest names, including John Sykes, Quincy Jones, Mo Ostin, Jon Platt, Clive Davis, Shelli and Irving Azoff, and more, the night has grown into a Grammy worthy affair.

This year’s gala was no different, as Monte and Avery Lipman, the founders of Republic Records were honored for their considerable contributions to both the music and philanthropic communities.

With artists like the Weeknd and John Legend in attendance, Jack Johnson, host Billy Porter, Sekou and surprise headliners the Jonas Brothers entertained the 1000 guests in attendance for the post COVID lockdown outdoor affair at the Pacific Design Center.

Doing any sort of event in 2022 could be very difficult, given financial difficulties, the country’s warring political ideologies and the sheer volume of issues people are devoting their time and money to.

But City of Hope CEO Robert Stone brought up a surprising, but excellent point of view. At a time when people seem to agree on very little, because of how many people’s lives have been directly affected by cancer, the shared desire to try and eradicate the disease is one of the few common goals everyone can agree upon.

“At a time when society is so polarized, unfortunately cancer is ever present and cancer unites people,” Stone told me. “You don’t have to worry about what side of the political aisle you’re on, what cause you stand for or what cause somebody else stands against, everybody is for the cause of ridding ourselves of cancer.”

Indeed, during his moving speech, Monte spoke eloquently about his own cancer battle eight years ago.

“What started out as routine trip to the doctor’s eight years ago, escalated into a full-blown medical emergency that changed my life forever. For those of you in this category, you understand the crippling fear and anxiety you experienced during those dark moments,” he said. “I’ve always been sympathetic and responsive to cancer-fighting initiatives, but until you go through the fire yourself, you don’t really understand the gravitas of the emotional distress, which becomes all-consuming.”

Like Steven Tyler’s always excellent Grammy gala benefitting Janie’s Fund and victims of sexual abuse, Spirit of Life does an exceptional job of making their cause real, with several speakers sharing their battles and ultimate triumphs. And they become stars of the night.

Singer/songwriter Sage Bava was attending her first of likely many Spirit of Life events. And as excited as she was to meet a persona hero like the generous Legend, who posed for several pictures with admirers between sets and dinner courses, she was even more moved by the speakers and the spirit of unity that permeated the night.

“The event highlighted the shared experience of humanity. The stories shared by survivors, the music shared by the incredible artists, and the general camaraderie that was enveloping the entire night reminded we are all in it together,” Bava told me. “Getting down to the truth and core shared understanding of the human experience is what songwriting should be all about. Unfortunately one of those truths we all have to deal with is cancer. Not all truths are good, but they are shared and that is the beauty of art — writing upon those truths and making ugly things beautiful.”

As mentioned, this year’s event was held outdoors. Kristin Bertell, Chief Philanthropy Officer for City of Hope, acknowledges the COVID lockdown, where they did things remotely for two years, gave the organization time to re-imagine how to do events in the new world.

“The pandemic was certainly disruptive, but it allowed us to reinvent and meet people where they’re at. Super proud that the music industry continued to reinvent themselves and to raise money for our mission during these times. It really was a fantastic opportunity,” she told me. “And the other thing is each year when we raise money it really reflects the honorees. So they get to choose how they do their campaign. So Monte and Avery Lipman doing their campaign was their way and their label’s way. They brought personality. At the end of the day personality is the trademark on this thing. They united a great team to do a great fundraising campaign. They brought new people to City of Hope.”