Los Angeles, CA’s Troubador will host the The Merry Minstrel Musical Circus: A Holiday Gathering & Goodwill Jamathon on December 20. Conceived by guitarist/producer Jonathan Wilson, the evening will feature Jackson Browne, Bob Weir, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers’ guitarist Mike Campbell and keyboardist Benmont Tench and others. Campbell also served as the event’s co-organizer. The original idea for the event’s format arose from the weekly jam sessions that Wilson used to host at his former studio in Laurel Canyon.

Wilson has worked with all the musicians involved during the past year. Both Browne and the members of the Heartbreakers participated in his epic Laurel Canyon jam sessions, and Wilson opened for Petty in Europe this past summer. After playing together at a Jerry Garcia tribute held at TRI Studios in August, Wilson and Weir struck up a friendship and have collaborated numerous times over the past four months. Wilson, Browne and the members of Dawes also toured Europe last year and collaborated in a variety of settings at this summer’s Newport Folk Fest.

Additional acts will be confirmed in the coming weeks. All proceeds from the benefit concert will go to Little Kids Rock and the Tazzy Animal Rescue Fund.