Upstage Lung Cancer to host Barry Manilow tribute benefit in Watertown

Upstage Lung Cancer will hold its 18th annual benefit concert on Oct. 27 at the Mosesian Center for the Arts in Watertown, Massachusetts, with a Barry Manilow tribute to raise money for lung cancer research and early detection. Emmy Award-winning critic Joyce Kulhawik will host the event, which also highlights the message that anyone with lungs can get lung cancer.

Why it matters: - The concert will raise funds for lung cancer research and early-detection initiatives. - The event uses music to push awareness around screening, diagnosis and lung cancer stigma. - Upstage Lung Cancer’s message is aimed at showing that lung cancer can affect anyone with lungs, not only people with known risk factors.

What happened: - Upstage Lung Cancer announced its 18th annual benefit concert, BARRY MANILOW: A Concert Tribute to a Master Showman. - The live event is set for Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2026, at 7:30 p.m. at the Mosesian Center for the Arts in Watertown, Massachusetts. - Emmy Award-winning arts and entertainment critic Joyce Kulhawik will host the evening. - The concert will celebrate Barry Manilow’s music and legacy.

The details: - Featured vocalists include Brian De Lorenzo, Hildy Grossman of The Follen Angels, Michael Hammond of The Company Theatre and Paula Markowicz of Divas With A Twist. - The Follen Angels band will provide musical accompaniment. - Upstage Lung Cancer will announce its annual Fan Award to Bianca Bye and Leah Phillips, founders of the Young Lung Cancer Initiative. - Guests will include Francine Jacobson, MD, MPH, a thoracic radiologist, and Lauren Coye, a young lung cancer survivor. - In December 2025, doctors found a stage-one cancerous tumor in Barry Manilow’s left lung. - Manilow said early detection and a good doctor made the difference, and his medical team was optimistic. - Hildy Grossman said the story reflects her own experience, when her cancer was also found by accident.

Between the lines: - Upstage Lung Cancer is tying a recognizable pop-culture figure to a public-health message to make early detection more immediate and relatable. - The organization is using a tribute format to connect entertainment, survivor stories and research funding in one event. - The focus on early detection underscores the group’s belief that screening should be accessible and not left to chance.

What’s next: - Proceeds from the concert will support lung cancer research and early-detection initiatives. - This year’s concert adds to more than 20 years of fundraising by Upstage Lung Cancer. - The nonprofit said it has funded more than $4.5 million in early-detection research grants. - Grants this year went to doctors at Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston Children’s Hospital and the Koch Institute at MIT. - Upstage Lung Cancer maintains partnerships with LUNGevity Foundation, GO2 for Lung Cancer, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Koch Institute at MIT. - Tickets and more information are available at Upstage Lung Cancer's event page.

The bottom line: - Upstage Lung Cancer is turning a Barry Manilow tribute into a fundraising push for lung cancer research, with early detection at the center of the message.