Hurricane Sandy benefit concert set for Friday

Bruce Springsteen, Jon Bon Jovi and Billy Joelwho all hail from states that were hard hit by Hurricane Sandywill headline a benefit concert supporting victims of the massive storm.

NBC has announced plans for Hurricane Sandy: Coming Together, a televised concert special to benefit the American Red Cross.

Long Island's Joel and New Jersey sons Springsteen and Bon Jovi will be joined on the lineup by music stars like Christina Aguilera and Sting, comedian Jimmy Fallon and Today Show anchor Matt Lauer, who will host the event.

The telecast will air from New York's Rockefeller Center at 8 p.m. ET Friday on NBC and its cable stations, including Bravo, CNBC and E! It will be broadcast on tape delay to the West Coast.

NBC invited other networks to join in.

Other celebrity-led efforts include a fundraising initiative started by actor Edward Norton on CrowdRise.com.

Storm devastated U.S. Northeast coast

Sandy, which morphed into a massive storm system earlier this week,devastated the U.S. Northeast coastal regionandcaused dozens of deaths in the U.S. and Canada.

Hundreds of thousands remain without power and the worst-hit regions are still suffering with flooded areas,power outages, blocked transportation, limited potable water and extensive storm debris.

However, many communities, includingNew YorkCity,have begun returning to normal. In the entertainment world,dozens of Broadway shows raised their curtains on Wednesday for the first timesince the storm, while live studio audiences returned for tapings of late-night talk shows.

Springsteen, whose Tuesday night concert in Rochester, N.Y., was postponed due to the storm, offered a tribute to police, firefighters and government officials working on storm relief efforts at his rescheduled show on Wednesday night.

The rocker also dedicated his song My City of Ruins to his hometown of Asbury Park, N.J.