The Avicii Tribute Concert for Mental Health Awareness will take place in December in the superstar DJ’s hometown of Stockholm.
A tribute concert for the late Swedish DJ and songwriter, Avicii, has been planned for December 5th in his hometown of Stockholm. All proceeds from the event will go to mental health and suicide prevention organizations.
The world famous DJ, born Tim Bergling, died by suicide on April 20, 2018, after retiring from touring in 2016. Bergling had been struggling with pancreatitis aggravated by heavy drinking.
Original Music
The Avicii Tribute Concert for Mental Health Awareness has already confirmed 19 musical artists including David Guetta, Adam Lambert and Rita Ora, and will feature some of Bergling’s original music, some of which has never been performed live. The artists will be supported by a 30-piece band during a two-hour set, with more musical guests to be announced in the coming months.
“We are grateful that his friends, producers, artists and colleagues are coming to Stockholm to help,” said Klas Bergling, Tim’s father, in a statement. “They have all expressed a sincere interest and desire to engage in efforts to stem the tide of mental illness and lend their support to our work with the Tim Bergling Foundation. We are very much looking forward to this evening, which will be a starting point for the foundation’s work going forward.”
Bergling retired from performing at the height of his career after suffering from deteriorating health for years. He was hospitalized in 2012 with acute pancreatitis, which was reportedly a result of his heavy alcohol use. He had his appendix and gallbladder removed in 2014. In spite of these clear and documented health issues, Bergling was sent what was described as a “flood of hate mail” when he would cancel performances.
Early Retirement
The artist spoke on these as well as mental health issues in a 2017 documentary titled Avicii: True Stories, directed by Bergling’s old friend Levan Tsikurishvili who spoke with Variety on the immense pressures the DJ faced before retiring.
“In the film, you see him working from literally his hospital bed… But I think he didn’t really know from the beginning [at 19 years old] what it means to be that successful,” he said. “No one knew that he could be that successful. It has been a weight for him.”
After his death, Bergling’s family launched the Tim Bergling Foundation to “focus on supporting people and organizations working in the field of mental illness and suicide prevention,” among other issues. The tribute concert is part of their efforts to reduce stigma around the issues that led to the loss of such an important musical artist.
“We want this concert to help put the topic on the agenda and pay attention to the stigma surrounding mental illness and suicide,” said Klas. “Policies and tools are needed to detect the risks and prevent suicide, especially among young people.”
