Former Red Sox stars Ryan Dempster, Bronson Arroyo and Jake Peavy headline the charity comedy and music benefit at City Winery supporting Theo Epstein’s Foundation To Be Named Later; A limited number of tickets are on sale to public at www.citywinery.com/boston or www.ftbnl.org

BOSTON (March 13, 2023) – Hot Stove Cool Music returns with a special Off The Mound party that will celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the Boston Red Sox’s historic 2013 World Series championship. Former Red Sox stars Ryan Dempster, Bronson Arroyo and Jake Peavy will be joined by Hall of Fame journalist Peter Gammons and singer Kay Hanley (Letters to Cleo) to top the lineup at the newly imagined event at City Winery (80 Beverly St., Boston) on Saturday, April 15. The evening will raise funds for the Foundation To Be Named Later (FTBNL), which was founded by Major League Baseball consultant and former Cubs and Red Sox championship team architect Theo Epstein and his twin brother, Paul.

Gammons will lead off the night (7:30 p.m. ET) and front an all-star musical lineup. In traditional Hot Stove Cool Music style, the super group will include Peavy (one of Dempster’s ’13 teammates), Dorchester native Hanley, Gail Greenwood from Belly, singer-songwriter Will Dailey, Chris Cote (Upper Crust, Duke Robillard) and other special guests.

Next Dempster will bring his Off The Mound show, a regular feature of the Marquee Sports Network in Chicago, to the City Winery stage. Styled like a late-night talk show and hosted by the former all-star pitcher, it will feature comedy, stories and unfiltered talk, with expected appearances by several of Dempster’s ’13 teammates to discuss the magical 2013 World Series run and what it meant for the city following the Boston Marathon tragedy.

Arroyo, who pitched for the curse-breaking 2004 Red Sox World Series championship team, will wrap up the evening with his new Bronson Arroyo and the ’04 band. Arroyo recently released his second album, “Some May Say,” to rave reviews.

A limited number of General Admission tickets are available for a $65 donation. VIP tickets, which include access to a special pre-show reception with a meet-and-greet, complimentary food and beverages, and a special viewing area, are also available for a $250 donation. Tickets are currently on sale at www.citywinery.com/boston or www.ftbnl.org.

“I’m excited to bring Off The Mound to Boston, a city that has always had a deep love for both baseball and rock music,” Dempster said. “I have so many great memories of my season with the Sox and I couldn’t have picked a better way to cap off my career. It’s great to be part of Hot Stove Cool Music and the Foundation To Be Named Later again, helping to raise much-needed funds for deserving youth and families from underserved neighborhoods in Boston and Chicago. Anyone who has ever been to Hot Stove Cool Music knows they’re going to experience a fun and unforgettable night.”

Gammons, who co-founded Hot Stove Cool Music with former baseball journalist Jeff Horrigan in 2000, will be honored earlier in the day on April 15, when he receives the PEACE Award from Harvard’s Advanced Leadership Initiative.

Hot Stove/Off The Mound is presented by Giving Grousbeck Fazzalari, Takeada, and sponsored by Elevate Communications, City Winery, Harpoon, Hope Family Vineyards, B-Flexion, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts, TBF, Rubin & Rudman, Holland Knight, PNC, Constellation Energy, First Republic, Hotel Commonwealth, Boston Red Sox, Greenberg Traurig, Westfield Capital, Foxfield, and a&g.

Hot Stove Cool Music is the signature fundraising event for FTBNL. It has raised more than $16 million since the foundation began in 2005. With the belief that a college education has the power to change the trajectory of a family’s life, the FTBNL’s signature program – The Peter Gammons College Scholarship – has invested in more than 260 young people who have overcome challenges and demonstrated a commitment to community service by sending them to the college of their choice. Each Gammons scholar receives a tuition gap scholarship, a mentor, leadership training and a plan for success. The program has a 98% college graduation rate and the alumni Gammons Scholar giveback by mentoring the new Gammons Scholars. FTBNL also supports innovative nonprofit partners in Boston and Chicago that change lives in underserved neighborhoods. To date, more than 400 nonprofits have received millions of dollars in FTBNL grants.

ABOUT HOT STOVE COOL MUSIC 
Hot Stove Cool Music was founded in 2000 by Peter Gammons and former Boston Herald sportswriter Jeff Horrigan. It is FTBNL’s signature event. FTBNL CEO Allyce Najimy and music director Ed Valauskas are the driving forces behind the event with a team of dedicated volunteers of artists, sponsors, baseball players and musicians.  HSCM is held annually in both Boston and Chicago in the summer. Past headliners include Eddie Vedder, Buddy Guy, James Taylor, Mavis Staples, Cheap Trick, Liz Phair, Tom Morello, Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks, Common, Yo-Yo Ma, Smashing Pumpkins, Juliana Hatfield, Steven Tyler and the Dropkick Murphys.

ABOUT FOUNDATION TO BE NAMED LATER (FTBNL)
 FTBNL, a playful nod to the MLB trade term, player to be named later, was launched in 2005 by twin brothers Theo, formerly of Boston Red Sox & Chicago Cubs and Paul Epstein, MSW, to invest in the next generation of diverse leaders through their Peter Gammons College Scholarships and support the nonprofit agencies, working on the front lines, serving youth and families from disadvantaged neighborhoods in Boston and Chicago. Since inception, FTBNL has raised more than $16 million and donated grants, scholarships, tickets and auction items to over 500 non-profit organizations, and has sent 260 Peter Gammons College Scholars, who have overcome tremendous obstacles, have high financial needs and great educational potential to the college of their choice, each with a mentor and plan for success. For more information on visit www.foundationtobenamedlater.org.

Media contact: Keith Gainsboro, Elevate, 617-895-7905, keith@elevatecom.com