Love Rocks NYC returned to the storied Beacon Theatre on Thursday for its 10th star-studded benefit concert for God’s Love We Deliver, the long-running nonprofit that prepares and home-delivers nutritious, medically tailored meals for people affected by life-altering illness.

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The four-hour showcase rotated through a long list of stars including Billy F. Gibbons, Elvis Costello, Goo Goo Dolls, Hozier, Joe Bonamassa, Jon Batiste, Linda Perry, Mavis Staples, Nile Rodgers & CHIC, Paul Simon, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Susanna Hoffs, Trombone Shorty, Warren Haynes, and more, while celebrities and comedians like Julianne Moore, Whoopi Goldberg, JB Smoove, Jeff Ross, Paul Shaffer, and kept the mood heartfelt and the mission at the forefront between acts.

In her introduction, Julianne Moore, the Academy Award-winning actress and self-proclaimed “proud New Yorker,” extolled the commitment of the countless volunteers and contributors who have made God’s Love We Deliver’s invaluable services accessible to those in need for 40 years and counting.

“That’s New York to me,” Moore said. “Not the skyline, not the rush, but the care we take of one another.”

The CBS Orchestra’s Will Lee once again served as the musical director of the Love Rocks house band, leading a familiar cast of world-class musicians like Eric Krasno (Soulive, Phil Lesh & Friends), Ivan Neville (Dumpstaphunk), Larry Campbell (Levon Helm, Bob Dylan), Michael Bearden (Lady Gaga), Pedrito Martinez (Bruce Springsteen, Sting, Camila Cabello), Shawn Pelton (Saturday Night Live), Ricky Peterson (Stevie Nicks), and Steve Gadd (James Taylor, Paul Simon), plus a six-piece “God’s Love Horns” and a choir of “We Deliver Singers,” many of whom have been a part of the Love Rocks project since its inception in 2017 and have seen a remarkable number of iconic musicians enter their orbit—and keep coming back.

When surprise guest host Bill Murray, a longtime Love Rocks regular, referred to the ensemble as “the greatest band in the world right now” before commandeering said collective for a charmingly chaotic “Werewolves of London”, it was easy to believe him. How many bands can announce a lineup as high-profile as Thursday’s and still count a large portion of the list as “longtime collaborators” rather than “high-profile gets?” How many other bands’ resumes read: 10 years, 10 total gigs, $65 million raised for ailing members of their community? One night a year, when Love Rocks takes over the Beacon, New York may just be witnessing the “greatest band in the world right now”—a band modeled in the city’s center-of-the-universe image and driven by its community ties.

As Whoopi Goldberg noted during one of her appearances onstage, ten years of Love Rocks NYC also marks “ten years of proving that music can not only move a crowd—it can move a movement.”

Per Love Rocks NYC tradition, the billed stars—and a few added surprises—rotated in throughout the night, most often for a cover and a song of their own. “We’re gonna do one of mine and then we’re gonna have some fun,” Irish hitmaker and Love Rocks NYC regular Hozier confirmed midway through the show before performing an obligatory take on his own “Take Me to Church” and welcoming Upper West Side local and disco legend Nile Rodgers for “Feelin’ Alright”.

The loving spirit of another city, New Orleans, also helped invigorate the celebration, from the Preservation Hall Jazz Band-led second line parade and Ivan Neville-sung The Meters “Hey Pocky A-Way” cover that kicked off the night to subsequent standout moments via NOLA natives Jon Batiste (a moving “A Change Is Gonna Come”) and Trombone Shorty (performing with both Batiste and Elvis Costello).

Hitmakers from various decades connected threads to the present day: Linda Perry nodded to the late Chris Cornell with “Black Hole Sun” before performing her signature 4 Non Blondes hit “What’s Up?”, milking a mid-song breakdown to lead the audience through the countermelody and reflect on the parallels between the lyrics’ early-’90s societal inspirations and today’s world. Goo Goo Dolls’ John Reznik quipped, “It’s nice to be in a room full of love tonight, there aren’t enough rooms full of love these days,” before moving from a Tom Petty “You Wreck Me” cover into a supremely satisfying take on “Iris”—a karaoke treatment of the highest order for his timeless karaoke classic.

Susannah Hoffs sang The Bangles hit “Manic Monday” and joined Warren Haynes for Rod Stewart classic “Maggie Mae”. Rock & Roll Hall of Famer and “queen of hip-hop soul” Mary J. Blige brought diva distinction to her 2001 hit “Family Affair”.

Paul Simon cast a quiet spell on the crowd for his three-song appearance, which included takes on “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover” (plus banter with original drummer Steve Gadd about the 1975 sessions for the track), “The Boxer” (with Larry Campbell on pedal steel), and “Still Crazy After All These Years” (complete with its unmistakeable saxophone solo).

Then, as always, there were the surprises: Young guitar phenom Bay Melnick Virgolino (of recent America’s Got Talent fame) joined Billy Gibbons and Joe Bonamassa for a multigenerational tribute to the late blues icon B.B. King, Bonamassa giving the young ripper a platform just like King gave famously gave him his big break during his own child prodigy days. Tennis legend John McEnroe joined Billy Gibbons on guitar—and endured some ribbing about prohibited athletic wear onstage—for a run through “Sharp Dressed Man”. Unadvertised legend Mavis Staples, another Love Rocks fixture, joined Haynes, Hozier, and Elvis Costello on The Band’s “The Weight”. Zarna Garg, the least well-known comic on the lineup of hosts, scored the evening’s biggest laughs with her material about life as an immigrant New Yorker and mother.

After co-executive producer Greg Williamson was bestowed with the inaugural LOVE ROCKS NYC Impact Award by his fellow co-executive producers John Varvatos and Nicole Rechter, along with the God’s Love We Deliver team, the show concluded with many of the evening’s performers onstage for a thoroughly appropriate “With a Little Help From My Friends” in the style of Joe Cocker.

Here’s to ten years of Love Rocks NYC, 40 years of God’s Love We Deliver, and 40 million medically tailored meals served to New Yorkers in need.

Below, check out a selection of photos from the 10th annual Love Rocks NYC at the Beacon Theatre on March 5th, 2026.

The tenth annual Love Rocks NYC was executive produced by John Varvatos, Greg Williamson, Nicole Rechter, produced by DPS, and presented by Bloomberg Philanthropies on behalf of God’s Love We Deliver.

God’s Love We Deliver addresses food and nutrition insecurity, and supports the health and well-being of their clients, by providing ongoing nutrition assessment, education, and counseling, advocating for food and nutrition support, and delivering medically tailored meals. It has served more than 40 million meals since it was founded during the AIDS pandemic in 1985, and currently addresses 200+ diagnoses with its medically tailored meals and nutrition services. God’s Love is a non-sectarian organization serving individuals living with illness, and their children and caregivers. With a community of 20,000 volunteers, they will cook and home-deliver 4 million medically tailored meals to 15,000 individuals this year, and all services will be free to clients. For more information on God’s Love We Deliver and how you can get involved, head here.

10th Annual Love Rocks NYC ft. Paul Simon, Billy Gibbons, Goo Goo Dolls, More | Beacon Theatre | New York, NY | 3/10/26 | Photos: Getty Images c/o Love Rocks NYC