Lenny Kravitz to Head Oil Spill Benefit Gig in New Orleans

Lenny Kravitz has been confirmed as headliner at a benefit concert to aid communities affected by the disastrous oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The concert is scheduled for Sunday, May 16.

The rocker -- whose hits include 'Are You Gonna Go My Way' -- will be joined by Ani DiFranco, rapper Mos Def and local legend Allen Toussain at the Mardi Gras World River City in New Orleans. It is understood that Kravitz, who lives part of the time in the city, was one of the first artists to sign up for the concert.

Money raised by the concert will be donated to the fishermen whose livelihoods have been affected by the oil spill, which has poured an estimated 210,000 gallons of oil into the surrounding waters each day. The accident occurred on April 22, when the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded and sank.

The BBC reports that Ewell Smith -- the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board's executive chairman -- said that the concert would go some way to helping local fisherman.

He said, "Thousands of families across South Louisiana will potentially be impacted for years to come and will need all the help they can get to survive. Without them, we lose a vital part of our culture and heritage."