Music and baseball are set to collide at Wrigleyville’s Metro on June 21, when Chicago Cubs President of Baseball Operations Theo Epstein, Hall of Fame baseball writer Peter Gammons and Cubs broadcaster Len Kasper join an all-star lineup of musicians and personalities for the 2nd Annual Hot Stove Cool Music Chicago benefit concert, presented by KTR Capital Partners.Benefiting Chicago Cubs Charities and Epstein’s Foundation To Be Named Later, the fundraiser will feature ensemble performances by headliner Poi Dog Pondering along with the Parkington Sisters, Brede Baldwin and Kay Hanley, former vocalist for Letters to Cleo. Gammons, Epstein and Kasper will perform alongside The Hot Stove All-Stars, featuring Jesse Dee, Local H’s Scott Lucas, Will Dailey, Jimmy Chamberlin and special guests. Chicago favorite Joel Murray will serve as the evening’s emcee.

“I am grateful to the musicians, sponsors and Chicago fans that help make it possible to continue to raise money for disadvantaged youth through Hot Stove Cool Music,” Gammons said. “Particularly in this day and age with budget cuts to charitable and community-focused programs, we focus on making sure underprivileged kids have the resources they need to experience fulfilling lives, and this event helps significantly with that effort.”

In addition to the all-star music lineup, the evening will feature a number of special guests and a live and silent auction featuring signed sports memorabilia and priceless entertainment experiences.

Hot Stove Cool Music was founded in 2000 by Gammons and former Boston Herald sports writer Jeff Horrigan. The biannual event has raised more than $5.5 million for Theo and Paul Epstein’s Foundation To Be Named Later and the Jimmy Fund. Foundation To Be Named Later was founded in 2005 by Epstein and his brother Paul as a means to create positive opportunities for disadvantaged children and families.

Hot Stove Cool Music is presented by KTR Capital Partners and sponsored by Victory Park Capital, Giordano Pizza, KPMG LLG, Walmart, The Metro, the Chicago Cubs, Chicago Trading Company, Focus HR Support, Sidley Austin, South Street Films, Athletes on the Move, Tito’s Vodka, Atlantis Cars & Limos and the Alter Group.

Nonprofit partner beneficiaries include the One Fund Boston 2013, The Chicago Children’s Choir, City Year Chicago, Girls in the Game, Family Reach Foundation, Chicago Wapiti RFC, Late Night Peace Basketball League and Garfield Park Little League.

About Poi Dog Pondering
Poi dog pondering, “The little big band with the strong back stubborn heart”, has been following it’s intuition for 20 years now. From bohemian street buskers to impossible to market major label sacrificial lambs… Poi dog pondering has ripened into staunchly independent musical voyagers. They have let every sound that excited them flow through their music and flood it with ever changing colors; Rock and soul. Orchestral, acoustic and electronic textures. Americana, rock band disco and international music. All threaded along the way with lyrics that embrace the beauty and pain that life can bring.

About Parkington Sisters
From Wellfleet, Massachusetts, the Parkington Sisters recently completed their second full-length album, which will released later this year. Their 2011 debut album “Till Voices Wake Us” was produced by Joel Hamilton (Tom Waits, Elvis Costello) and recorded at Avatar Studios, and Studio G in New York City. The album was selected by Acoustic Guitar Magazine as one of the top essential albums of 2011.

ABOUT HOT STOVE COOL MUSIC
Hot Stove Cool Music is a biannual charity concert and musical variety show held in Boston in the winter and summer months, making its debut in Chicago in summer 2012. The event was created in December of 2000 by Hall of Fame Baseball journalist Peter Gammons and former Boston Herald sports writer Jeff Horrigan. Over the past 12 years, Hot Stove Cool Music has become a staple on Boston’s entertainment calendar and has raised more than $5 million for the Jimmy Fund and Theo and Paul Epstein’s Foundation To Be Named Later.

ABOUT FOUNDATION TO BE NAMED LATER (FTBNL)
Foundation To Be Named Later (FTBNL) was launched in Spring of 2005 by Paul Epstein, a social worker in the Brookline public school system, and his twin brother, former Boston Red Sox EVP and GM and current Chicago Cubs President of Baseball Operations, Theo Epstein. Named after the MLB trade term, player to be named later, the mission of FTBNL is to raise funds and awareness for non-profit agencies, working on the front lines, serving disadvantaged youth and families. FTBNL invests in programs that teach leadership, education and healthy development of families.

FTBNL has given over $5 million in grants and in-kind donations to over 200 non-profit organizations and has sent approximately 3,500 children, who would not otherwise get the chance to go to a game, to Red Sox and Celtics home games. The Peter Gammons/FTBNL College Scholarship (named in honor of Hall of Famer and FTBNL Champion, Peter Gammons) is the signature program of FTBNL and has sent more than 20 young people with high financial needs and high educational potential to the college of their choice. Each Gammons Scholar gets an adult mentor and a laptop computer to ensure college success.

ABOUT CHICAGO CUBS CHARITIES
Chicago Cubs Charities strives to make Chicago a great place to live, work and play by harnessing the passion of Cubs fans to improve the lives of children and families across the city and beyond. Chicago Cubs Charities’ goal is to provide increased access to sports opportunities and target improvements in health, fitness and education for those at risk. Through grants to quality non-profit programs, development of parks and baseball fields, and other community initiatives, the Cubs and Chicago Cubs Charities help fulfill a commitment to be the best in the game, on and off the field.