Dave Matthews: unplugged

By Jose Lambiet2/21/2012

Rocker Dave Matthews left his family vacation and hightailed it to Palm Beach for the annual Everglades Foundation gala. He played for an hour. Unplugged. And free of charge.

That’s the kind of commitment that the Foundation, which funds cleanup and research efforts in the River of Grass, sparks in celebrities (country star Kenny Chesney and Sting preceded Matthews over the past two years), volunteers, donors and staff. Just ask 11-time surfing world champ Kelly Slater, who was the honorary chair. He was on his way to Australia for the beginning of surf season there but made a stop by The Breakers for Friday’s event. – Want more society news? Click here to register for the Gossip Extra dirt alerts “Cleaning the Everglades is something that’s close to my heart,” said the bald surfing machine. “I was born and raised in Cocoa Beach, so I understand how important it is.” And the gala, themed ”surfer chic” this year, has become by far the largest and richest society event of the Palm Beach season — never mind that the non-profit foundation is based in Miami! It was expected to raise $2.1 million in one night, according to publicist Cheryl Crowley.

There was fire-power from the world of high finance, including former General Electric CEO Jack Welch, housing crash billionaire Jeff Greene and Wall Street investor Paul Tudor Jones. The fiesta was emceed by MSNBC‘s Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski. Spotted in the crowd: local attorney Jack Scarola; Palm Beach County State Attorney candidate Dave Aronberg; equestrian Georgina Bloomberg; Savannah Buffett, sent by dad Jimmy Buffett to represent the family; golf legend Jack Nicklaus; and Outback steak founder Tim Gannon. So, who else was there? Click here to find out For more non-profit news:

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