CALIFORNIA FOCUS / Chris Hillman's Live Rendition of Tom Petty's "Wildflowers" Pre

Chris Hillman's Live Rendition of Tom Petty's

"Wildflowers" Premieres at Relix

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Chris Hillman & Herb Pedersen with John Jorgenson Announce Benefit Concert for Survivors of California's Thomas Fire on February 16 at

Santa Barbara's Historic Lobero Theater

February 12, 2018 - Nashville, TN - Chris Hillman's moving live rendition of Tom Petty's "Wildflowers," filmed in October 2017 at the Troubadour - the venue at which he launched his career in the early 1960s - is premiering today at Relix. The song appears on Bidin' My Time, Hillman's most recent studio album, which Petty produced. Writing in Stereogum, Peter Helman called Hillman's version of the song "warm, lived-in, and lovely, starting out with just guitar and Hillman's tender vocals before gradually building up into a lush front-porch symphony."

Watch the video here.

Hillman muses, "The Troubadour in West Hollywood was where it all began for me, from my first Bluegrass band in 1963 to the first performances by the Byrds and the Flying Burrito Brothers. Performing there again in October of 2017 was like coming home. Tom Petty's song 'Wildflowers,' which we performed in honor of Tom made the night that much more special."

On Friday, February 16, Hillman, his longtime musical partner Herb Pedersen, multi-instrumentalist John Jorgenson (a Desert Rose Band alum with whom the duo frequently works), and Mark Fain will appear together in concert at the Lobero Theater, 33 East Canon Perdido Street in Santa Barbara. Tickets are priced at $45.00 and can be purchased here. All proceeds from the show will benefit survivors of the Thomas Fire, which devastated Ventura County, Hillman's home for many years. Donations will be distributed via relief organizations Direct Relief, Help California, and United Way.

"On February 16, we will be performing again at the historic Lobero Theater in Santa Barbara at a benefit concert for the victims of the Thomas Fire and the mudslides that followed," said Hillman. "Having been a victim of the fire, I feel a close bond with all who have suffered through this tragedy."

People wishing to contribute to the relief effort may donate at the below links:

Direct Relief www.directrelief.org

Help California www.help-california.orgwww.help-california.org

United Way Thomas Fire and Flood Fund: www.unitedwaythomasfirefund.org