Jeff Conolly, frontman of the acclaimed 1980s Boston-based garage band the Lyres and its predecessor group DMZ, had been diagnosed with bladder cancer and is in need of financial assistance to help pay his medical bills. Conolly, who’s also known by the nickname Monoman, has launched a GoFundMe page to raise funds for chemotherapy and his “pre-surgery” medications.
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As of March 3, the campaign had brought in more than $49,000, 90 percent of Conolly’s $55,000 goal. Contributors to the initiative include members of Wilco, The Cars, The Dictators, The Smithereens, and Nada Surf.
In a message posted in late January on the Lyres’ social media pages and Conolly’s GoFundMe page, the musician thanked those who had contributed to the fund while lamenting the extremely high cost of his prescriptions.
He added, “Without Your GoFundMe Support and [Contributions,] I Couldn’t Make It To My Real End-game To Be CANCER FREE IN 2026!”
A benefit concert also has been organized to support Conolly that’s scheduled for Thursday, March 12, at the famous Boston club The Middle East. The show, which has been dubbed “Jeff Conolly Cancer Battle Of The Bands,” will feature a variety of local groups. The concert will include performances by Mission Of Burma, Classic Ruins, Unnatural Axe, and Dogmatics, plus some special guests.
Tickets are priced at $38.07 and can be purchased via TicketWeb.
More About Jeff Conolly
Conolly has been a volatile, eccentric presence on the garage-rock scene since the formation of DMZ in 1976. The band’s early lineup included future Cars drummer David Robinson. After releasing a self-titled EP in 1977 and a self-titled album in 1978, DMZ broke up.
Conolly then formed the Lyres with two other DMZ members. The Lyres released a number of acclaimed albums during the 1980s, including On Fyre (1984), Lyres Lyres (1986), and A Promise Is A Promise (1988).
Among the group’s most popular tunes are “Don’t Give It Up Now” and “Help You Ann.”
Conolly has continued to lead the band, accompanied by a frequently rotating list of musicians, until the present day. The Lyres most recently played in Austin, Texas, on February 13 and San Antonio the next night. The band had been scheduled to perform in Medford, Massachusetts, on March 28. That concert was canceled due to Jeff’s illness.
(Photo by Jeff Cuyubamba)
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