Benifit

Nicole Atkins doesn’t have any sociopolitical songs on her forthcoming album, Mondo Amore — it’s all about her failed relationship — but on the side, when she’s not writing or performing, she gets involved with some causes close to her heart, one near; one far.

At home, in her native New Jersey, it’s helping out the Mercy Center in Asbury Park by performing an annual benefit concert at Christmastime.  On the charity's web site, the vision statement is “providing people with the resources necessary to overcome life’s burdens and obstacles in an environment marked by dignity and respect.”

“The town that I grew up in has gone through enormous redevelopment,” says Atkins, who now lives in Brooklyn, New York.

“In the ‘60s and even before, it was the premiere vacation spot, then there were race riots in the early ‘70s. The whole town was burnt to the ground and everybody left and the block got run down, but for the last 10 years they’ve really been working on the town and it’s getting pretty again and populated again.”