Bowie tribute concert announced as he dies

Rock legend David Bowie will be honored with a concert at New York's Carnegie Hall that was announced with eerie timing just as the world discovered he had died.

The March 31 concert will feature performers influenced by the trailblazing British artist including Cyndi Lauper, the pop singer whose flamboyance made her a 1980s celebrity, and Perry Farrell of alternative rock giants Jane's Addiction.

News of the concert was released early Monday as previously scheduled with the launch of a special website for the charity concert. Moments later, Bowie's management made the shock announcement that he had died Sunday at age 69 following an undisclosed battle with cancer.

Michael Dorf, who runs the City Winery bar and concert venue in New York, said he had been organizing the concert for six months.

"A sad coincidence. DB (David Bowie), may God's love be with you!" he wrote on Twitter.

Tickets quickly sold out to the concert, for which Bowie's longtime manager Tony Visconti will play as part of a house band.

Other performers will include soul singer Bettye Lavette, English alternative rocker Robyn Hitchcock and US indie rockers The Mountain Goats.

Bowie -- a force in music, theater and fashion who pioneered glam rock -- just Friday released his final album, "Blackstar," one of his most experimental works in years with a hard jazz sound.

The New York-based British musician also wrote the music to "Lazarus," which is showing to sold-out audiences at an off-Broadway theater in New York.

"Lazarus" is based on "The Man Who Fell to Earth," the science-fiction novel whose 1976 film adaptation starred Bowie but did not include his music after a contractual dispute.