A sold-out crowd at the Hard Rock Café on the Las Vegas Strip helped raise $290,000 for the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research on Wednesday night, as Latin music stars traded their usual sets for covers of classic rock and pop songs during Latin GRAMMY Week. The Los Producers Benefit Concert brought together BMI songwriters and Latin GRAMMY nominees for an evening built around reinterpreting hits from Black Sabbath to Blink-182.
The figure was reported by BMI, which served as a presenting sponsor alongside the Latin Recording Academy for the show at the Hard Rock Café. The concert was hosted by Anamaria Artemisa Sayre, host of NPR's Alt.Latino, and sold out ahead of the night's performances.
A Night of Rock Covers Honoring Sebastián Krys
The evening doubled as a tribute to producer Sebastián Krys, honored by CPI En La Mezcla for his career and contributions to Latin music. Krys, a 14-time Latin GRAMMY and eight-time GRAMMY Award-winning producer and engineer according to the Latin Recording Academy, was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2019 — a detail that has shaped the fundraiser's mission for years.
Krys has also used his profile to address language barriers around Parkinson’s: he is a member of the Michael J. Fox Foundation’s Patient Council and helped develop a Spanish-language Parkinson’s education resource for patients and families. The Argentine-born producer has worked with artists including Shakira, Juanes and Elvis Costello, bringing connections across Latin and pop music into the benefit’s awareness and fundraising effort.
The lineup leaned into unexpected pairings of genre and generation. Juanes and Dany Villarreal took on Black Sabbath's War Pigs, while Juanes also performed Juan Luis Guerra's La Bilirrubina earlier in the set, per the same BMI account. Mon Laferte covered Frankie Valli's Can't Take My Eyes Off You, and Lila Downs took on The Police's Don't Stand So Close to Me.
Pat Benatar, The Clash and a Blink-182 Send-Off
Delilah performed Pat Benatar's Hit Me With Your Best Shot, and Kinky delivered a version of The Clash's Rock the Casbah, the BMI report notes. Arath Herce and Paty Cantú paired up for Oasis's Don't Look Back in Anger, rounding out a night heavy on rock radio staples reimagined by Latin artists.
La Vida Bohème closed the show with a medley blending Los Toucans de Tijuana's La Chona and Blink-182's What's My Age Again, according to BMI's recap — a fitting finale for a concert built around genre mashups. Additional sponsors behind the night included mitú, Griffin Catalyst, La Marca Prosecco, Verizon, Universal Music Latino, Warner Chappell, Magnus, Rimas Publishing, Spotify, Full Sail University, Sony Music Publishing and First Horizon.
A Decade of Fundraising for Parkinson's and Beyond
This year's total builds on a long run for the Los Producers charity concert, which BMI says has been one of the industry's most anticipated events during Latin GRAMMY week for more than a decade and has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars overall. Past beneficiaries have included the Los Ángeles En México Foundation, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Education Through Music, City of Hope and the Help Me Rebuild La Perla Foundation, in addition to the Michael J. Fox Foundation.
The event's ties to Parkinson's research fundraising stretch back years. The 9th annual Los Producers event raised more than $135,000 for the Michael J. Fox Foundation in 2019, a year that saw donations jump 315 percent after Alex and Juliana Krys Jewelry matched contributions dollar for dollar up to $50,000. Producer Sebastián Krys has said the concert raised more than $130,000 for Parkinson's research in 2022, and the 2024 edition, held at M2 Club in Miami, brought in $230,000 for the same foundation.
The series’ recent totals show the scale of its growth: the 2024 concert raised $230,000 at Miami’s M2 Club, while the 2022 Las Vegas edition brought in more than $130,000. The 2024 edition was presented by BMI, Rebeleon Entertainment, the Latin Recording Academy’s Círculo de Productores e Ingenieros and the Recording Academy’s Florida Chapter, illustrating how the event’s partnerships have extended beyond its Las Vegas home.
The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research is dedicated to advancing research toward a cure for Parkinson's disease. With this year's $290,000 result, the concert series adds to its history of fundraising.
The need for research is reflected in the foundation’s estimates: a 2026 report from the foundation put the number of Americans living with Parkinson’s disease at about 1.09 million in 2024, and estimated that Parkinson’s and atypical parkinsonisms together affected 1.21 million people. The report also estimated the combined annual economic burden of those conditions at $82.2 billion in 2024, including medical costs and losses tied to reduced work and caregiving.
