Twenty Years In, Springsteen Plays Stand Up for Heroes at Geffen Hall

Bruce Springsteen headlines the 20th anniversary of Stand Up for Heroes on Monday, November 9, at David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center, with Jon Stewart, Hasan Minhaj and Josh Johnson of "The Daily Show" telling the jokes.

Alex Warren and The Resilient are also on the bill, according to the Associated Press announcement by Mark Kennedy. The night raises money for injured veterans and their families.

It is a Monday night across from Columbus Avenue, and for twenty years it has been one of the few benefits in town where the jokes come first.

What Is Stand Up for Heroes?

It is an annual benefit that mixes stand-up comedy with music. The Bob Woodruff Foundation produces it with the New York Comedy Festival, and the money goes to veterans, military families and caregivers.

Bob Woodruff is the ABC News journalist who was nearly killed in a 2006 attack in Iraq while embedded with American troops, the AP reports. The first show was in 2007. Since then, the event has raised $117 million, according to the same report.

"When we started this way back in 2007 we thought it would just be a one-time concert. But it's become one of the most meaningful nights of the year," Woodruff said in a statement quoted by the AP.

It's become one of the most meaningful nights of the year.

Who Is on the 2026 Bill?

Springsteen is the music. Stewart, Minhaj and Johnson are the comedy. Alex Warren and The Resilient round out the lineup, per the AP and Pollstar's version of the announcement. No additions had been announced in the coverage we checked this weekend.

Springsteen is no stranger to the night. NJArts.net's Jay Lustig notes that he has performed at the benefit many times before, and the site's announcement carries video of his 2012 set with Patti Scialfa.

Stewart is a repeat guest too. He was on last year's bill, which Lincoln Center's listing for the 19th edition names alongside Mike Birbiglia, Alex Edelman, Jim Gaffigan and Tom Papa, with Idina Menzel, Lea Michele and Leslie Odom Jr. singing.

The AP lists earlier guests that include Stephen Colbert, Ricky Gervais, John Mayer, Seth Meyers, John Mulaney, John Oliver, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jeff Ross, Ray Romano and Jerry Seinfeld.

How Does It Fit the Comedy Festival?

Stand Up for Heroes sits in the middle of the New York Comedy Festival, which runs November 6 through 15 and bills itself as ten days of shows across all five boroughs, according to the festival's own schedule. Dave Chappelle opens the festival at Madison Square Garden on November 6 and 7, as we reported in our story on his Karmageddon nights.

Geffen Hall is the festival's only Lincoln Center date. Most of the big rooms on the schedule are elsewhere, from the Beacon and Town Hall to the Hard Rock Hotel's Venue on Music Row and Kings Theatre in Brooklyn.

What Else Is On That Weekend?

The days around it are crowded. The festival lists Joanne McNally taping a Netflix special, Pinotphile, at Town Hall on Saturday, November 7. On Sunday, November 8, Marc Maron brings his Yammering Into the Void tour to the Beacon, and Sarah Sherman and Patti Harrison share a bill at Town Hall.

After Geffen Hall, the schedule keeps going. Ilana Glazer plays the Beacon on November 13 and Daniel Sloss plays it on November 14, per the festival.

The Monday benefit is the one night in the run where the laughs are raising money for someone else.

When Does the Show Start?

The 2026 start time had not been posted in the festival schedule or the announcements we read. Last year's edition began at 8 p.m. in the hall's Wu Tsai Theater, according to Lincoln Center, so check the ticket page before you plan dinner. The hall is at 10 Lincoln Center Plaza.

The AP reports that tickets are on sale now. The event's web address, standupforheroes.com, forwards to the Bob Woodruff Foundation's 2026 event page. Prices were not listed in any source we read.

Lincoln Center's listing notes the benefit is presented by an outside licensee, not by Lincoln Center itself. The same page describes the foundation's mission as working to "find, fund, shape, and accelerate equitable solutions that help the military and veteran community thrive."

Why It Matters on a Monday

Most Broadway houses go dark on Mondays. This hall on the plaza fills up instead.

Twenty years ago it was supposed to happen once. Springsteen keeps coming back.