The 13th annual Stand Up For Heroes veterans fundraiser will take place November 4th at the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden with a bill that includes Bruce Springsteen, Jon Stewart, John Oliver, Ronny Chieng and Hasan Minhaj. It is presented by the Bod Woodruff Foundation and the New York Comedy Festival. Tickets go on sale September 10th.
“Even after 13 years of Stand Up for Heroes, the event continues to inspire our audience and our nation,” ABC News correspondent Bob Woodruff said in a statement. “We can’t forget that these brave individuals stand up to serve in our military, and we need to show our support by standing up for them in return.”
In January 2006, Woodruff was embedded with U.S. troops in Iraq when he was seriously injured by an improvised explosive devise. After enduring brain surgery, a 36-day coma and extensive physical therapy he managed to make a miraculous recovery. He organized the first Stand Up For Heroes benefit in 2007 at New York’s Town Hall to benefit others wounded in overseas conflicts.
The event has been held every year since then, moving from Town Hall to the Beacon Theater to the Theater at Madison Square Garden and raising over $50 million. A rotating crew of comedians has played over the years, including Jerry Seinfeld, Jimmy Fallon, Trevor Noah, Oliver, Jim Gaffigan and Louis C.K.
Springsteen has been on the bill every year with the exception of 2017 when his Springsteen on Broadway schedule made it impossible. He often plays a short acoustic set, tells a couple of jokes, and then auctions off his guitar, a personal guitar lesson and occasionally a dinner at his home, complete with lasagna from his mother’s own recipe.