It was during a 10-day silent retreat in 1977 with the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts, that Laurie Anderson first connected with the practice of Buddhism and embarked on a deeper journey into meditation and into the culture and heritage of Tibet. Nearly a decade later, after her first introduction, Anderson entered a long-term collaboration with the Tibet House US in New York City, founded by Buddhist author and professor Robert Thurman, actor Richard Gere, and pianist and composer Philip Glass in 1987, at the request of the Dalai Lama, following his first visit to the United States in 1979.
Since its inception, the non-profit institution has continued working to preserve, protect, and sustain the cultural heritage of Tibet and its people, with exhibits, educational resources and programs, meditation classes, and other cultural events throughout the year, along with an annual benefit concert, now in its 39th year.
Under the tutelage of Glass and Anderson, serving as artistic directors, and musical director Tony Shanahan from Patti Smith’s band, the 2026 edition of the Annual Tibet House US Benefit Concert, will return to The Stern Auditorium, Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall on March 3 with performances by Blondie’s Debbie Harry, the B-52s’ Kate Pierson, Allison Russell, The Philip Glass Ensemble, Jesse Malin, actress and singer-songwriter Maya Hawke, Christian Lee Hutson, Toro y Moi, Tibetan composer and activist Tenzin Choegyal, The Resistance Revival Chorus, The Scorchio Quartet, who won a Grammy in 2026 Best New Age, Ambient, or Chant Album, and more surprise guests.
Each year, the concert also opens with an invocation prayer and sacred chanting with three verses of the Mandala offering prayer, by Monks from the Drepung Gomang Monastery in India.
“It’s a great spirit,” says Anderson of the annual concert, chaired by Uma Thurman, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Peter Sarsgaard, Arden Wohl, and Jonah Freeman.
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“It’s always beautiful,” adds Shanahan, who has been involved with the Tibet House US concerts since 1995, an evening that featured performances by Allen Ginsberg, David Byrne, and Natalie Merchant. “The rehearsal day is really when it all comes together.”
Without revealing too much about the performances in March, Shanahan shared that Harry will be performing a mash-up of Blondie’s 1979 classic ‘Heart of Glass” with a piece by Glass, backed by his Ensemble. “It’s pretty outstanding,” he says.
The first time Shanahan played Carnegie Hall was during the late 1970s when he was in John Cale‘s band, and they were on the same bill as Glass. “I joke that every time I’ve played Carnegie Hall,” laughs Shanahan, “it’s been with Philip.”
Now 89, Glass still attends all the rehearsals for the Tibet concert and is “diplomatic,” says Anderson, while working through arrangements. “He’s got the greatest insight into what’s going on,” says Anderson, who has known the composer for 50 years. “He’s a wonderful leader. He’s one of my greatest heroes and one of the most amazing people. It’s so great when you know somebody for such a long time.”
February 17, 2026, also marked the beginning of the Year of the Horse, which will be reflected in the show. “It’s beautiful that it’s the year of the horse,” says Shanahan. In 2004, Anderson designed a horse flag for a display of Tibetan prayer flags at the Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art in New York City. “The horse is the wind,” adds Anderson. “It’s a good one. It’s intense.”
Along with 2026 returnees Russell, Choegyal, Scorchio Quartet, and Glass’ Ensemble, the 2025 Tibet House US concert featured Patti Smith, Jackson Browne, Michael Stipe, Pakistani-American singer and composer Arooj Aftab, the YindaTin Children of Tibet choir, who made their Carnegie Hall debut, Orville Peck, and more.
Past concerts for Tibet have welcomed Carly Simon, Joan Baez, David Bowie, Iggy Pop, Lou Reed, R.E.M, Sharon Jones, Cyndi Lauper, Annie Lennox, Emmylou Harris, The Flaming Lips, Keanu Reeves, Eddie Vedder, FKA twigs, The Roots, Jim James, Phoebe Bridgers, Vampire Weekend, St. Paul and the Broken Bones, Bowen Yang, Blood Orange, Sigur Rós, Jon Batiste, Nathaniel Rateliff, Jason Isbell, Stephen Colbert, Brittany Howard, Black Pumas, Cage The Elephant, Alabama Shakes, boygenius, Maggie Rogers, Trey Anastasio, and many more performers.
This year is also paramount in bringing awareness to Tibetan communities across the United States, particularly in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, which may be at risk during recent operations by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
“Everybody in Minneapolis, including the Tibetans, is being challenged,” says Anderson. “So I would say that it’s not so much about Tibet as it is Tibetans in the U.S. right now.”
There are an estimated 26,700 people of Tibetan ancestry living in the United States, according to the Central Tibetan Administration, with the largest concentration in the borough of Queens in New York City; the second largest is in Minnesota, where there are approximately 5,000 individuals of Tibetan descent, according to the Tibetan American Foundation of Minnesota.
Anderson is part of a group called Campfire, which works with immigration systems around the world. “We’re trying to support people and understand what’s going on and protect them as much as possible,” shares Anderson. “For Tibetans, it’s an issue as well, especially in Minneapolis.”
The focus now is on how to react to the immigration policies threatening the community, something Anderson wishes more meditative training could ease, regarding the outrage around the current tensions.
“This kind of training or instruction can be part of what we’re doing,” she says, “because the level of anger is so high in our country now that having another approach to it is … I can’t think of anything more important. How do you deal with your own reactions to it?”
She continues, “The Tibetan culture is so complex, and at the same time, the people are, on the surface, very simple. But there’s a warmth there that I’ve never seen anywhere else, and a peacefulness. It would be the greatest thing if we could somehow channel this at the moment.”
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For tickets to the 2026 Tibet House US Benefit Concert, click here.
Video: Courtesy of Joe Cosey for Tibet House
Main Photo: Noam Galai / Getty Images Tibet House US
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