Charity Cases

James Taylor may have grown up in North Carolina, but he’s Boston born, and calls Massachusetts home. Taylor will donate his $500,000 in earnings from his upcoming five-night stand at a music festival at Tanglewood in Lenox, Mass., to the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

Taylor’s connection with the BSO goes back to 1993 when he played with the Boston Pops conducted by John Williams. That’s also when he first met his wife, Kim, who worked as the orchestra’s director of public relations and marketing and is a current trustee.

“The support for classical music is diminishing,” Taylor told The Boston Globe. “We have real concerns for what the future is for it. We also know it takes a huge structure to maintain a symphony and a lot of money.”

Taylor will perform at Tanglewood Aug. 26-30.

Aberdeen, Wash., may not be the home of Candlebox, but as the “birthplace of Grunge,” the town was Kurt Cobain’s hometown.

Candlebox, which originated just a tad north in Seattle, will headline the third annual Lounge Acts Concert at the D and R Theater in Aberdeen Oct. 17. Also appearing will be former Nirvana drummer Chad Channing’s band, Before Cars. Channing played drums in Nirvana from 1988 to 1990.

All proceeds will go to help the foundation build a youth center in Cobain’s honor in Aberdeen.

Kid Rock will sponsor the Big 3 stage at Arts, Beats & Eats – Festival Hope in Pontiac, Mich. Michigander Rock is helping out with the costs of the Big 3 stage, previously sponsored by Chrysler, through his “Made in Detroit” clothing line.

The stage is now branded as the Kid Rock-Made In Detroit Big Three Stage and will host Detroit-area bands such as Pato, Robin Horlock Band and Ultraviolet Hippopotamus, according to The Oakland Press.

“I am proud to announce that Made in Detroit is sponsoring the Big 3 Stage at Arts, Beats & Eats,” Rock said. “We heard the festival was facing financial challenges this year and thought this was the perfect venue to show our support of Ford, Chrysler and GM. As a company, Made in Detroit always aims to help out people around the state who are facing tough times right now, and this seemed to be another perfect way to help them out.”

Arts, Beats & Eats runs Sept. 4-7 throughout downtown Pontiac.