We Are Family Foundation Gala – 5th October, NY
October 6, 2009
It was a star-studded affair at the Hammerstein Ballroom in Manhattan last night! Legendary producer Nile Rogers (of Chic) threw his annual We Are Family Foundation Gala with his lovely partner Nancy Hunt. This year they honored Desmond Tutu, Google Earth, and Susan and David Rockefeller, Jr.
I lucked out in so many ways for my first hometown red carpet event. First of all, I found this incredible Alberto Ferretti dress in a thrift store, straight off the runway with the tags still attached. Then, my friend Michelle Edgar, the beauty editor of OK Magazine, hooked me up with her friends at the Ted Gibson salon on 5th avenue, and senior stylist Liam braided my hair in a loose up-do. The necklace is a borrowed piece – a Russian antique with diamonds, rubies, and pearls. Rosie Perez hosted the night (that voice is so recognizable!)
My band and I opened the evening with Curtis Mayfield’s “People Get Ready.” The first note I played, I broke a string on my 1946 Gibson L-12 guitar. Maybe my guitar was nervous! Because after the song, I went to sit at my assigned table and realized my dinner partner was none other than Henry Gibson Guitar Chairman and CEO Henry Juszkiewicz. How cool is that?!
Film director Susan Cohn Rockefeller accepted an award with her husband David Rockefeller Jr. for all the philanthropic work they have done together. Then Susan screened a clip from her new documentary about my tour to Iraq to play for the troops. It was the first time I had seen it! Here we were, all these fancy movers and shakers sitting in our black-tie gowns in a glitzy Manhattan ballroom, watching footage of me wearing camouflage body armor playing in the desert with dust storms everywhere.
After dinner, Kool and the Gang took to the stage and the whole room got up to boogie. Now there is a band with a tight rhythm section. Nile Rogers closed out the night with his band Chic, and before I knew it I was in a limo on my way home. It was my first limo ride – no I never took one to the prom! As I watched the twinkling city lights whiz by on 7th avenue, I thought to myself: “I have the coolest f*cking life EVER.”
Nile & Nell
