Hayley Williams, Florence Welch, Trey Anastasio and More Light Up Jack Antonoff’s Ally Coalition Benefit Concert

Jack Antonoff’s annual benefit concert for the Ally Coalition — his and his sister Rachel’s charitable organization, which has raised over $2 million to support unhoused LGBTQ+ youths — has featured so many stars over its 11 editions that it’s hard to remember them all: Over the years we’ve seen Taylor Swift, Lana Del Rey (on the same night), Sabrina Carpenter (singing a “Christmas version” of “Please Please Please”), Lorde, Kacey Musgraves, Phish’s Trey Anastasio, St. Vincent, Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus, Clairo, Brittany Howard, the (Dixie) Chicks, Jason Isbell and many other Antonoff collaborators or adjacent people perform at the event, which features his versatile group Bleachers as the house band and annual co-headiner.

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Monday night’s Ally Coalition Talent Show, held at the event’s home base of New York University’s Skirball Center, was no exception, with appearances from Hayley Williams, Florence and the Machine frontperson Florence Welch, Anastasio (all pictured above with Antonoff), Rachel Zegler and more.

The guests, who perform two or three songs each and often join others, are never announced in advance, so every year features a mix of perennial performers — singer-songwriter Claud said it was their seventh appearance; Anastasio first performed there in 2022 — and newcomers, most of whom have recently been in Antonoff’s orbit. Williams performed with him at Rolling Stone’s “Musicians on Musicians” concert last month; he co-wrote and co-produced Welch’s 2022 album “Dance Fever.” The looseness of the show is reflected in Antonoff’s frequent stage directions, which are often audibles like “Is he ready?” and “Should we flip them?”

The show is also interspersed with brief sets from comedians; Tuesday night’s included Mike Birbiglia, Chris Laker and Chris Fleming, all of whom were good, although the latter brought the house down with his self-deprecating, highly physical humor.

The show may be fun and funny, but the cause is serious: In addition to the concert, the Ally Coalition held its fourth annual Day of Services in New York last Friday, bringing together local LGBTQ organizations, medical service organizations, and clothing brands to support the at-risk and homeless youth in the community. It also went on tour last year, with Lucy Dacus, Ethel Cain, Djo, Remi Wolf, TV On The Radio, Grizzly Bear, Lauren Mayberry, Joy Oladokun, and others, and hosted service projects at The Grammy Museum and at LGBTQ+ Centers with Maren Morris to pack hygiene kits for LGBTQ+ youth.

Monday evening’s show began with a song from Bleachers, followed by two from Andrew Dost, his erstwhile bandmate in the group Fun. — the short-lived Grammy-winning trio that launched Antonoff to stardom — who plays at the top of the show nearly every year.

Next up were Claud, Samia, Hank, and Annie DeRusso with a harmony-filled, hilariously profane anti-holiday song about bringing a love interest to meet the family called “Jesus Fucking Christmas” — not to be confused with the South Park anthem, “Merry Fucking Christmas” — that includes the priceless lyric, “The bar’s not even high/ You were two hours late last time/ And you smell like weed, and my parents think you’re useless.”

Singer-songwriter Kelsey Lu followed with a pair of songs before a comedy interlude that led into the show’s big finale, as Bleachers took the stage and performed first with Rainey, then a pair with Anastasio, then Rachel Zegler, star of “Romeo and Juliet” (for which Antonoff wrote the music), who sang a lovely version of Joni Mitchell’s holiday-themed “River,” in a range much lower than Joni’s.

Next up, Hayley Williams, clad in a tight leather skirt and four-inch heels, rocketed across the stage and launched into “Kill Me” and “Good Ol’ Days” from her Grammy-nominated new solo album, “Ego Death at the Bachelorette Party.” She stepped into a backing vocal role when Florence — who created quite a contrast in her trademark flowing white gown and Stevie Nicks-meets-Lady Macbeth stage moves — took the lead for “Free” and her signature song, “The Dog Days Are Over.”

The show wound down with an all-cast cover of Judee Sill’s classic “Lopin’ Along Through the Cosmos,” and closed, as it did last year, with Antonoff’s own “Merry Christmas, Please Don’t Call.”