Fontainebleau to host high-profile Sandy benefit

MIAMI — On Dec. 15, the iconic Fontainebleau Miami Beach hotel will hold a high-profile concert to raise money for victims of superstorm Sandy.

The event began as one of the hotel's four "Bleau Live" concerts that it will hold this year. It was to feature Dionne Warwick, Fontainebleau president Phil Goldfarb told me on Friday.

But after Sandy devastated Warwick's native New Jersey and New York, the singer asked Fontainebleau execs if they could turn it into a benefit for Sandy victims.

"We said, 'Done,'" Goldfarb says. "And she made some calls. Who's going to come is going to be amazing."

Concert organizers are still putting the event together and confirming names, so we don't have all the details yet but expect big names. Pressed for names for Dec. 15, Goldfarb said Stevie Wonder will perform.

Warwick still is an active performer. She's also the mother of Damon Elliott, who has produced singles and albums for acts such as Beyonce, Pink, Brittany Spears and Taylor Swift.

The event will benefit United Way, which will receive a part of ticket sales and proceeds from live auctions.

"We're going go raise an awful lot of money for the hurricane victims," Goldfarb said.

To find details as they come out, check bleaulive.com, the website that Fontainebleau uses to promote its music events. The hotel this year will do four Bleau Live events, but next year it will hold twice as many because they're so successful at bringing in money on what would otherwise be slow weekends.