Smith Gives Teen Refugee a Break At Tibetan Benefit
Female First
March 1, 2010

Punk legend Patti Smith made a Tibetan refugee's
dreams of stardom come true on Friday (26Feb10)
when she invited the teenager to perform with
herband at a benefit concert in New York.

The rocker headlined the 2010 Tibet House show
with Iggy Pop and ReginaSpektor to raise
awareness about the country's ongoing struggle for independence from China.

It feels like I'm fitting right in. It's such an
honour that I got a chance to perform with such amazing people

But it was a performance of a traditional Tibetan
song by 15-year-old Tenzin Kunsel, who moved to
the U.S. in 2003, which proved to be one of the night's highlights.

Kunsel, who was backed by the Patti Smith Band
for the brief set, tellsthe Associated Press, "It
feels like I'm fitting right in. It's such an
honour that I got a chance to perform with such amazing people".

The annual benefit at Manhattan's Carnegie Hall
also featured Gogol Bordello and Smith's daughter
Jesse Smith, as well as composer Philip Glass,who
served as the event's artistic director.

The show concluded with a multi-act performance
of Smith's People Have the Power, bringing the crowd to its feet.