Musician and actress Sharon Van Etten will be joining the remaining members of rock band Fountains of Wayne in paying tribute to Adam Schlesinger in an upcoming fundraiser.
In a tweet from the Fountains of Wayne account, they said that they would be performing with Van Etten as a part of the "Jersey 4 Jersey," a one-night broadcast fundraiser presented by the New Jersey Pandemic Relief Fund. The star-studded charity show is scheduled on April 22, 7 PM ET.
Sharon Van Etten will be playing bass and backing vocals opposite to Chris Collingwood's lead vocals and rhythm guitar, as well as Jody Porter's lead guitar and Brian Young's drums.
"Jersey 4 Jersey" will also feature appearances and performances from mostly New Jersey natives such as Jon Bon Jovi, Halsey, SZA, Bruce Springsteen, Saquon Barkley, Tony Bennett, Whoopi Goldberg, Danny DeVito, Jon Steward, Kelly Ripa, Chelsea Handler, and more.
Collingwood said in a press statement that members Brian (Young) and Jody (Porter) are honored to be a part of the Jersey benefit and grateful that Van Etten will be joining them. The Fountains of Wayne frontman added that their bassist would have been proud that the band will help raise funds for the people of New Jersey.
Meanwhile, Sharon Van Etten extended the same sentiments. "As a New Jersey native, it means so much to me to participate in the NJPRF charitable event that gives back to this community," further describing Schlesinger as an incredible songwriter and that she's "truly humbled to join Fountains of Wayne in his honor."
Adam Schlesinger, bassist and backup vocals for Fountains of Wayne, passed away due to complications from coronavirus last April 1. He was 52. His lawyer, Josh Grier, disclosed that Schlesinger was "very sick and heavily sedated" before refuting earlier reports that the bassist-songwriter was in a medically-induced coma.
Some of Schlesinger's most known works include the Fountains' hit "Stacy's Mom" and the title track for Tom Hanks' 1996 directorial debut "That Thing You Do!" The Fountains' bassist also worked on writing songs over the four seasons of The CW series "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend."
In memory of Schlesinger's work in the 1996 movie, members of the fictional band "The Wonders" reunited for an online fundraiser. Steve Zahn, Johnathon Schaech, Tom Everett Scott, and Ethan Embry made a movie commentary and later auctioned off a rare vinyl of the movie's official soundtrack.
Also, Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong paid tribute to Schlesinger by performing a cover of "That Thing You Do!" on the Green Day YouTube channel as a part of his "No Fun Mondays" quarantine series.
Sharon Van Etten, a Brooklyn-native singer-songwriter, has released five studio albums from "Because I Was In Love" in 2009 to "Remind Me Tomorrow" in 2019. Aside from her music career, she has also played the role of Rachel in the Netflix drama "The OA." Van Etten also made a guest appearance on the sixth episode of the 2017 Showtime series "Twin Peaks." She is also slated to appear in the upcoming 2020 drama movie "Never Rarely Sometimes Always."
