Godsmack frontman Sully Erna is bringing a lineup of hard rock heavyweights to Hollywood, Florida, for a one-night benefit concert aimed squarely at the mental health crisis quietly gripping the music industry. The Scars Foundation Celebrity Jam lands Dec. 10 at Hard Rock Live inside Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood, with Godsmack headlining and special appearances confirmed from Aerosmith guitarist Brad Whitford, Disturbed frontman David Draiman, and Extreme guitarist Nuno Bettencourt.
Tickets for the show went on sale Oct. 12 at 10 a.m., according to details confirmed by Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. Prices started at $156, according to WDHA FM. Doors open at 7 p.m. ahead of an 8 p.m. showtime, per details confirmed by Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. Seats are available through Ticketmaster and Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood, and organizers say more artists and guests will be announced later. Members of Staind and Three Days Grace are also expected to make special appearances, with the night built around collaborations tied to the foundation's music heals message.
A Foundation Born From Loss
Erna started The Scars Foundation after losing friends and fellow artists to suicide, according to the station's report, and has said his goal is to change the way people think about mental health. He established the charity in April 2019 alongside Executive Director Naomi Fabricant, according to In The Rooms. The organization supports people facing abuse, mental illness, disability, bullying, and addiction, and asks people to own their stories, speak openly, and wear their scars with pride.
“None of us should have to carry our pain alone,” Erna said in a Godsmack post announcing the concert, per the same account. Funds raised Dec. 10 will support the foundation's work to reduce mental health stigma, prevent suicide, fight addiction, and help people in emotional pain ask for help without fear, judgment, or shame.
From Local Programs to National Festival Stages
Over its first five years, the charity launched the Musicbiz Mental Health Fund in partnership with Music Health Alliance, built a private Facebook support group serving more than 4,000 members, and co-created a youth boxing program in New Hampshire with coach Julio Peña to mentor at-risk youth, according to The Scars Foundation. In May 2026 the foundation expanded further, partnering with promoter Danny Wimmer Presents to host dedicated Wellness Lounge activations at major festivals including Welcome To Rockville and Sonic Temple. Fans can donate directly at scarsfoundation.org.
The push arrives as data on the toll of touring life keeps mounting. A 2025 MusiCares survey of nearly 3,200 music industry professionals found that 11.4% reported experiencing suicidal ideation within the previous year, more than double the rate seen in the general U.S. population, according to Pollstar. The same survey cited financial insecurity as a major driver of anxiety and depression among musicians.
A Statewide Crisis Behind the Stage Lights
Nationally, suicide claimed 48,824 lives in the United States in 2024, with an estimated 14.3 million adults reporting serious suicidal thoughts that year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In Florida specifically, an estimated 836,000 adults experience serious thoughts of suicide each year, and the state recorded 3,446 suicide deaths in 2022, per the National Alliance on Mental Illness Florida. The organization has also reported that Floridians are three times more likely to be forced out-of-network for mental health care than for primary medical care.
The concert's host venue underscores the scale of the night. Hard Rock Live seats 7,000 in a clamshell-style theater and was named Casino/Resort Venue of the Year at the 2025 Pollstar Awards, according to Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. The venue represented an investment of more than $125 million and was part of the resort's $1.5 billion expansion, unveiled in 2019.
Godsmack's Big Year on the Road
Godsmack enters the benefit show fresh off a packed 2026 touring schedule. Godsmack was listed on the Thursday lineup for Welcome To Rockville's 2026 edition, which Hoodline previewed in April; the festival drew roughly 230,000 fans in 2025. Godsmack then headlined Rocklahoma's 20th anniversary celebration in Pryor, Oklahoma, in September, a lineup Hoodline detailed in its report on Rocklahoma's 20th anniversary.
The band's résumé includes 13 No. 1 singles and 27 top 10 singles on mainstream rock radio since 1999, per Billboard, along with four Grammy nominations, a Billboard Music Award for Rock Artist of the Year, and more than 20 million records sold worldwide. Godsmack released its eighth studio album, Lighting Up the Sky, in 2023, reissued Awake, and put out the live album Live at Mohegan Sun on May 1. The band is currently touring on its Rise of Rock World Tour with Dorothy.
Industry-Wide Momentum Behind the Cause
The Scars Foundation's push joins a broader wave of genre-spanning support for music industry mental health. In November 2025 the Country Music Association issued multi-million dollar grants to organizations including Music Health Alliance and MusiCares, alongside a $3 million donation to launch Belmont University's Center for Mental Health in Entertainment, according to the Country Music Association. Those grants are intended to help offset therapy costs and healthcare access barriers for music workers across genres.
