Johnny Depp made a surprise appearance at the ‘People Have the Power: A Celebration of Patti Smith’ tribute.
Huge names descended on New York City’s legendary Carnegie Hall to honour the punk poet laureate on Wednesday night (26.03.25).
The evening featured dazzling performances by Bruce Springsteen, Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Michael Stipe of R.E.M., and many more.
The Boss and Flea joined forces on a rousing rendition of ‘Because the Night’, Smith and Springsteen’s 1978 hit.
Karen O gave a hair-raising performance of Smith’s 1975 classic ‘Gloria’, while Depp made a surprise appearance to perform ‘Dancing Barefoot’ alongside Alison Mosshart of The Kills.
Smith and Depp have shared a sister-brother relationship for many years.
They grew close after her own sibling passed away and the ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ star inspired her song ‘Nine’ from her 2012 LP ‘Banga’.
She told The Sun at the time: “I met Johnny [Depp] about five years ago. He and Vanessa (Paradis, his then-wife) and their daughter came to my concert in Los Angeles and said hello backstage. We just really hit it off. I lost my brother and really mourned him, and it felt like he sent Johnny Depp to be my new brother.”
At a playback of the album, Smith shared: “I went to visit him [Depp] in Puerto Rico when he was filming Rum Diary. It was his birthday, and I didn’t have a present, so I wrote him a song.”
Hollywood stars Scarlett Johansson, Michael Shannon, and Sean Penn also took part by reading some of Smith’s poetry.
The magical night culminated with a performance of ‘People Have the Power’, which saw Smith join the majority of the night’s performers onstage.
All proceeds from the star-studded event will help fund music education for underprivileged youth.