John Mellencamp To Headline Bob Costas Benefit In St. Louis, April 20, 2013

JOHN MELLENCAMP TO HEADLINE BOB COSTAS EVENT TO BENEFIT CANCER CENTER AT SSM CARDINAL GLENNON CHILDREN’S MEDICAL CENTER

Saturday, April 20, at the Fox Theatre; Tickets On Sale Now!

ST. LOUIS – The legendary John Mellencamp will highlight the 25th Annual Bob Costas Benefit for SSM Cardinal Glennon Children’s Medical Center on Saturday, April 20, at 8 p.m. at the Fox Theatre.

John Mellencamp will be returning to the Costas Benefit stage and is expected to perform a set that draws from his extensive catalog of classic songs including “Small Town,” “Jack and Diane,” “Pink Houses,” “R.O.C.K. in the USA”, among many others. Mellencamp’s Indiana roots keep him grounded in America’s heartland and, over the course of a record career spanning 35 years, his music has touched the world. His social activism, including his role in co-founding Farm Aid, is reflected in much of his music. He has been nominated for 13 Grammys, received Billboard’s Century Award, ASCAP Foundation’s Champion Award, The Woody Guthrie Award, Q Magazine’s Classic Song-writer Award, the Americana Music Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award for Songwriting, a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee and is the 2012 recipient of the John Steinbeck Award.

This special night will also be filled with laughter. While the comedic artist for this event will be announced shortly, past Costas Benefits have featured performers such as Billy Crystal, Jay Leno, Ray Romano, Jerry Seinfeld, Bill Murray, Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Fallon, Dana Carvey, Cedric The Entertainer, Kathleen Madigan, and many more.

Tickets are on sale now and may be purchased by calling 314-577-5605 or online at www.glennon.org. Sponsorship levels, which include pre-show dinner options, are also available by contacting the Foundation office at 314-577-5605.

About the Bob Costas Cancer Center
All proceeds from the event will benefit the Bob Costas Cancer Center at Cardinal Glennon Children’s Medical Center. For more than 40 years, Cardinal Glennon has made a mission of caring for children, regardless of their medical condition or social, religious, ethnic or economic backgrounds. The Bob Costas Cancer Center is a vital part of Cardinal Glennon; with a four-bed bone marrow/stem cell transplant unit, research facilities at the Pediatric Research Institute, the St. Louis Cord Blood Bank and Day Hospital. The Bob Costas Cancer Center was named to honor Bob Costas for his dedication to the children of St. Louis and beyond. Through Costas’ efforts more than $11 million has been raised to deliver some of the most advanced medical care available anywhere in the world.

About Bob Costas
Bob Costas has been one of the most valuable assets at NBC since he joined the network in 1979. He has hosted or called just about every major sporting event, including the Olympics, the Super Bowl, the Kentucky Derby, U.S. Open Golf Championships, the World Series, and the NBA Finals. He is well known as NBC’s primetime host of the Olympics, with this past summer’s London festivities marking his tenth Olympics. Bob has won twenty-four Emmy awards – more than any sports broadcaster. His versatility has been recognized with awards and nominations in the categories of hosting, play-by-play, writing, journalism, news, and entertainment. He is the only person ever to have won Emmy’s in news, sports, and entertainment. His news Emmy was awarded for his interview with Jerry Sandusky, the central figure in the Penn State scandal. His entertainment Emmy came in 1993 for his acclaimed late night program “Later with Bob Costas.” At present, Bob hosts “Football Night in America” on NBC, continues to be the prime-time host of NBC’s Olympic coverage, while also contributing to NBC News programs such as “Nightly News”, “Rock Center”, and the “Today Show.” With the advent of the new NBC Sports Network, Bob’s program “Costas Tonight” reprises the issue oriented town hall format that was such a successful part of his run at HBO. At MLBN, Bob has been able to return to his first love, baseball - contributing interviews, commentaries, and play-by-play to the new network.