T-Bone Burnett Unveils Dazzling Lineup, Dates for Speaking Clock Revue

Monday's lineup announcement for this year's Bridge School Benefit had several surprises and was punctuated by the news that the original Buffalo Springfield -- featuring Neil Young and Stephen Stills -- would reunite for the shows. And then there was the whole thing about Pearl Jam's sets being in celebration of their 20th anniversary. But trained eyes didn't let those two notable items detract from another intriguing listing on the lineup: T-Bone Burnett's Speaking Clock Revue, featuring Elton John with Leon Russell, Elvis Costello, Ralph Stanley, Neko Case and Jeff Bridges.

News in its own right, more details about the Speaking Clock Revue -- and additional dates -- were unveiled on Tuesday. Described as a "multi-artist concert extravaganza," the revue will debut on Oct. 16 at the Wang Center in Boston, followed by an Oct. 20 engagement at the Beacon Theater in New York, before making its way to the Bridge School Benefit (in Mountain View, Calif.) that weekend. The Boston and New York dates will feature a slightly different lineup than the Bridge School Benefit, with appearances by John Mellencamp, Gregg Allman, Punch Brothers, Karen Elson and Secret Sisters in addition to the performers already listed above. Jim James (My Morning Jacket) will replace Neko Case at the New York show. The net proceeds from these standalone performances will be donated to the Participant Foundation to support music and arts education programming in public schools.

"The privacy and the intimacy of the studio afford artists the freedom to create, but something thrilling happens in getting away from the machines and into the live communication of real-time storytelling in the larger community," Burnett said in a statement issued to the press. "The first tour I went on, my first job in show business, was on the Rolling Thunder Revue, and I've come back to that type of collaborative and extraordinarily rewarding experience from time to time. We are looking forward with great anticipation to getting the Speaking Clock Revue up and running this fall and continuing it in the years to come."

With 10 Grammy Awards under his belt, we trust that Burnett will make these nights ones for the books. Tickets for the Boston and New York engagements go on sale Monday, Sept. 27 via Ticketmaster.