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Rufus Wainwright, the acclaimed singer, songwriter, and composer, will celebrate his 50th birthday with a one-night-only show, Fifty isn’t The End A 50th birthday concert with Rufus Wainwright and Friends to benefit the Montauk Historical Society on July 13th at The Montauk Point Lighthouse.
The milestone birthday event will be produced by New York-based Murmrr Presents featuring special guest performances by Jimmy Fallon, Tig Notaro, Laurie Anderson, Loudon Wainwright, Martha Wainwright, Lucy Wainwright Roche, Joan As Police Woman, Jenni Muldaur, Chaim Tannenbaum and more.
The host committee for the event is Julianne Moore, Isabella Rossellini, Cindy Sherman, Paul Simon, and Liev Schreiber. Additionally, Rufus will be joined by his husband, Jorn Weisbrodt who is also turning 50 this year, and his band featuring musicians David Mansfield, GE Smith, Shawn Pelton, Tony Shanahan, and Thomas Bartlett.
The historical and picturesque Montauk Point Lighthouse was the first lighthouse built in New York State and is the fourth-oldest working lighthouse in the United States. The concert will raise funds for the Montauk Historical Society to support the operations of this beloved National Historic Landmark, which welcomes over 100,000 visitors each year.
Wainwright shares, "I honestly could not be more thrilled to celebrate Jorn and my 50th birthday in Montauk. It is the place where our romance started, and it is the place we love being the most. I always wanted to do a show at the Lighthouse with the ocean as the backdrop and the moon rising over the ocean, so we just went to the Historical Society and offered our services, and they enthusiastically embraced the idea.”
He continues, “Montauk has been a refuge for so many people and artists over the years. It has a real sense of community and we have made deep roots here and felt very welcomed by the town and its inhabitants. It is wonderful to give back a little and help raise some money and joy. I am so grateful for all my family from my dad Loudon to my sisters, Martha and Lucy, and friends like Laurie Anderson, Jimmy Fallon, and Tig Notaro to join me on stage for what I am sure will be one of the most unusual and hilarious shows Montauk and the Hamptons and 2023 will have ever seen. I have no doubt there will be more surprise guests coming."
The Wainwrights are a social fixture in East Hampton. As a child, Rufus spent his summers on Shelter Island where his father now has a home and took his bike each day to East Hampton to be part of the posher side of the Hamptons. On his Mark Ronson-produced 7th studio album, released in 2012, "Out of the Game", Rufus sang an ode to his beloved Montauk. It has been Rufus’ dream to perform on the lawn of the iconic lighthouse in Montauk and upon meeting the director of the Montauk Historical Society Mia Certic, the dream has now become a reality.
Doors will open at 5:00 PM for a pre-celebration with a DJ spinning. There will be hors d’oeuvres and cocktails before the show starts at 7:00 PM.
Purchase tickets to Rufus & Friends: This Isn’t The End at murmrr.com.
General Admission: $150
Children Under 12: $75
VIP: $300
The Montauk Point Lighthouse is located at 2000 Montauk Hwy, Montauk, NY 11954. For more information, visit montaukhistoricalsociety.org.
ABOUT MURMRR:
Founded by Brian Kelly, Murmrr is a community-focused New York-based events company. They program world-renowned and emerging artists in various disciplines including music, art, comedy, literature, and film. Murmrr strives to provide a hi-fi sonic experience coupled with events that promote culture before commerce. http://www.murmrr.com/
ABOUT MONTAUK HISTORICAL SOCIETY:
The Montauk Historical Society is the nonprofit organization that owns the Montauk Point Lighthouse. It costs over $1.5 million a year to run the lighthouse and museum. Special events, like its annual benefit concert, are an essential way to fund programming and maintenance. An extensive restoration of the tower and the exterior of the museum will be completed this summer after over five years of work and planning, and at a cost of $1.8 million. It was funded by grants, generous donations, and admission fees. https://montaukhistoricalsociety.org/restoration-first-phase/. A $38 million revetment led by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and New York State’s Department of Environmental Control, finished earlier this year, will safeguard the lighthouse for future generations. The mission of the Montauk Historical Society is to collect, restore, preserve, and display historically significant buildings, objects, and writings, and to preserve the history and cultures of Montauk and the East End for this and future generations.
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Denise Finnegan, R. Couri Hay CPR - denise@rcourihaycpr.com – 646.431.7663
Sarah Gartner - R. Couri Hay CPR - sarah@rcourihaycpr.com – 212.580.0835
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