BW&BK; has received the following press release:

Organizers of the benefit concert for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum and the John Entwistle Foundation today confirmed that legendary GRAND FUNK RAILROAD guitarist and lead vocalist Mark Farner has been added to the September 20, 2008 concert line-up. Farner will join BLUE ÖYSTER CULT front-man Buck Dharma and former DEEP PURPLE/RAINBOW lead vocalist Joe Lynn Turner on-stage, along with former members of the JOHN ENTWISTLE BAND, in what has become one of the most anticipated concert events of 2008.

Farner found success at age 20 as the unmistakable voice of the original Grand Funk Railroad, a band that rose to international superstar status in the early 1970s and went on to record 12 platinum and 15 gold selling albums. On his 25th birthday Farner’s rock classic 'We’re An American Band' peaked at #1 on the Hot 100 chart. Other legendary Grand Funk Railroad hits include 'The Loco-Motion', 'Bad Time', 'Some Kind Of Wonderful', and 'I’m Your Captain (Closer to Home)'. In 1971 Grand Funk Railroad broke THE BEATLE’s 1966 attendance record for a single show at Shea Stadium in New York -- a record that stands to this day. The original band called it quits in 1977 before reuniting for several benefit shows in 1995 that were recorded and released as a double-live CD. Those concerts ultimately led to a three-year reunion tour that Pollstar ranked as one of the best of 1998. Among his many other credits, Farner has also toured as a member of RINGO STARR’S ALL-STAR BAND.

Tickets to the September 20, 2008 event at Koka Booth Amphitheatre in Cary, North Carolina are now on sale via Ticketmaster and the Koka Booth box office.

The next major headliner to join the show will be announced in several weeks. Later this week concert organizers will also announce some of the emerging artists that have been selected to play the benefit concert, as well as announce that a popular band with Triangle area-roots will also be added to the show bill.

Proceeds from the concert will benefit both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum’s educational outreach and the John Entwistle Foundation’s program of providing musical instruments and music lessons to disadvantaged youths through the public library systems in communities across the country.