Five For Fighting to Play String Quartet Shows With Broadway Musicians

Five For Fighting will also be performing on Live With Kelly And Mark on their special “Live’s 4th of July Family Party” Thursday, July 4th.

By: Josh Sharpe Jul. 02, 2024

Five For Fighting to Play String Quartet Shows With Broadway Musicians

Grammy® nominated, platinum-selling artist, Five For Fighting (aka John Ondrasik) will be hitting the road this July and August, bringing along his band, drummer Randy Cooke (Mick Jagger, Ringo Starr, Dave Stewart), bassist Sean Hurley (John Mayer, Ringo Starr, Alanis Morissette), and guitarist Peter Thorn (Chris Cornell, Melissa Etheridge, Don Henley), to play the songs his fans have loved for over two decades along with his recent viral sensations.

“If it’s summer, the Five for Fighting rock band is back in the bus!” says Ondrasik. “It’s always a thrill for me to play with such amazing musicians, Pete, Randy, and Sean. We look forward to playing songs people know and love and some of the newer songs like ‘OK (We Are Not Ok)’ and telling some stories along the way. See you this summer!”

Then beginning in September, Five For Fighting will be playing a series of special string quartet shows (all dates below). Ondrasik will be bringing top musicians including Tony-Award winning concertmaster and co-orchestrator of Moulin Rouge! The Musical Katie Kresek (Violin), Melissa Tong (Violin), who toured with Post Malone in 2023, and Broadway’s Chris Cardona (Viola) and Peter Sachon (Cello). The intimate nature of the evening allows Ondrasik to go behind the music with stories and sagas, while there is always a surprise or two in store.

Five For Fighting will also be performing on Live With Kelly And Mark on their special “Live’s 4th of July Family Party” Thursday, July 4th playing a couple of hits and a familiar holiday favorite just for the show. Tune in at 9:00am ET, check local listings HERE. Says Ondrasik, “Excited to celebrate our nations birthday this year with fellow NYU parents Kelly and Mark!”

To date, Five For Fighting, has released six studio albums, including the platinum certified America Town and The Battle for Everything; and the top-10 charting Two Lights, along with an EP and live albums. Ondrasik has penned major hits, including the chart-topping “100 Years,” “The Riddle,” “Chances,” “World,” and “Easy Tonight,” which have earned tens of millions of streams and place him as a top-10 Hot Adult Contemporary artist for the 2000s. The reflective “100 Years” has joined “Superman (It’s Not Easy)” as part of the American Songbook and continues to stand the test of time at weddings, birthdays, graduations, memorials, and many a home video. Five For Fighting’s music has also been featured in more than 350 films, television shows, and commercials, including the Oscar-winning The Blind Side, Hawaii Five-O, The Sopranos and the CBS drama, Code Black.

Ondrasik’s passion for supporting humanitarian efforts and freedom has been a longstanding commitment for the artist as well. Recently, he’s been taking a non-political stance on key events around the world, writing songs from a humanistic perspective including "Blood On My Hands" about the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, "Can One Man Save The World?" which was recorded in Kyiv in support of Ukraine, and “OK (We Are Not Ok)” in response to the October 7th Hamas attacks in Israel, while addressing the cultural aftermath both in America and around the world. Michael Ramirez, two-time Pulitzer Prize winning cartoonist, drew the single cover image. Hours before Iran's missile attack on Israel on April 13, Ondrasik performed “OK (We Are Not Ok)” " in Tel Aviv. The singer/songwriter also performed his 9-11 anthem song, "Superman (It’s Not Easy).” Watch the performance and listen to his comments HERE. Ondrasik has been one of the few in the entertainment industry who has spoken up after the Hamas attacks on Israel – read The Wall Street Journal story "A Lone Voice Sings for Israel" HERE and the Los Angeles Magazine story “After Dodging a Drone Attack, Five for Fighting Lives to Sing Another Day” HERE. Says’ Ondrasik, “’OK (We Are Not Ok)’ is not a political message, but a moral one. A call to action.”