Artists who contributed to the soundtrack for Zach Braff‘s 2004 directorial debut, Garden State, are set to assemble for a concert marking the film’s 20th anniversary.
Nearly every artist involved in the soundtrack, including The Shins, Iron & Wine, Frou Frou, Thievery Corporation, Remy Zero, Cary Brothers and many others will perform at Los Angeles’ Greek Theatre on March 29, 2025.
Also set to feature are Men At Work’s Colin Hay, Bonnie Somerville, Zero 7’s Sophie Barker and some “very special guests” that are yet to be announced.
The Garden State soundtrack won the 2005 Grammy for Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media and has sold more than 1.3 million copies in the United States. The Shins’ ‘New Slang’, which the characters actually listen to in the film, is the band’s biggest song on streaming services, with nearly 384 million spins on Spotify alone.
The film follows bit part television actor Andrew Largeman (Braff) who, after many years away, returns to his home town in New Jersey to attend his mother’s funeral. While there he meets compulsive liar and amateur musician Sam (Natalie Portman), with whom he feels an immediate connection.
Tickets for the concert are now on sale, with proceeds going towards the Midnight Mission’s work to provide resources to the homeless in Los Angeles. Braff was introduced to the charity through Brothers, who also came up with the idea to stage the 20th anniversary event and donate the proceeds.
Braff himself has frequently volunteered at Midnight Mission and called on friends nearly every Saturday during the COVID-19 pandemic to make 200 meals for the organisation.
“The experience inspired me to want to get more involved with the Midnight Mission and to support the work they are doing every single day to help those in need, living on the streets of Los Angeles,” the actor said (via SPIN).
“Ending homelessness requires a collective effort, and we are profoundly grateful to be collaborating with these exceptional individuals to raise vital funds and awareness for those living on our streets, who are hungry and without a place to call home,” added Midnight Mission president/CEO David Prentice.
In other news, Braff recently admitted that he’d be open to a Scrubs reboot at some point in the future. “Being able to laugh – belly laugh – with these people again, would be a lot of fun,’” he told the Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum podcast.
“When we signed up to do our show, they can put you under a pretty insane contract of, like, seven years and stuff, which was… which I wouldn’t do [again],” he said. “But some sort of a limited thing? You’re basically saying, ‘Do you wanna go get the gang back together and fucking laugh your ass off with some of your best friends and be paid well?’ Yeah, that sounds amazing.”
