COVINGTON, Ga. — Covington's willingness to "accommodate" a concert promoter helped him bring some music legends to a show that will help fund his education nonprofit.

Oxford resident Cornel Levy's organization Legends In Concert is set to feature Grammy Award-winning, multi-platinum singer Michael Bolton to Legion Field Sept. 18. Doors will open at 2 p.m. and the multi-performer show will begin at 5 p.m.

Levy's nonprofit, ConnectJA, works to provide technology training and equipment to young people in Jamaica, an island nation in the Caribbean best known as the birthplace of reggae music.

ConnectJA has hosted four benefit concerts in the Metro Atlanta area but found he was unable to secure a location for a fifth show.

"Nobody would accommodate us," Levy said.

He then approached Covington city leaders with the idea and was able to secure Legion Field for the multi-artist show, he said.

Bolton is one of the top-selling artists in history with 28 million records sold in the U.S. alone, according to the Recording Industry Association of America.

He is known for such 1980s and '90s hits as "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You," "Soul Provider," "When a Man Loves a Woman" and more.

Others on the bill are rooted in Jamaican music — with possibly the best known being Marcia Griffiths.

Griffiths is known for her 1983 song "Electric Boogie," which was remixed in 1989 as "Electric Slide" and touched off an international line dance hit of the same name.

However, before that, she was a member of the I Threes, who were backup singers for reggae legends Bob Marley and the Wailers.  

The show also is set to include reggae band L.U.S.T. and Jigsy King, Lady G, Junie Ranks, Anthony Malvo and Nanamous.

Levy said he was able to get in contact with Bolton's management group after a friend in Connecticut offered to help contact the singer, who is a Connecticut native and still resides there.

Bolton then heard about the show's purpose and agreed to participate, Levy said.

"He said he'd be honored to be there," Levy said.

Levy, a native Jamaican, formerly worked for Hewlett-Packard in Alpharetta. He got the idea for the nonprofit after hearing about the need for computers from a cousin who is a teacher in Jamaica.

He then asked his employer to donate some hardware but they did not want to donate items on which they could not give support — which he said is a problem in some countries.

Levy incorporated his nonprofit in 2011 and said he was able to ship 85 desktops to one school in the impoverished country.

ConnectJA also has donated a 40-computer media center and provided more than 20,000 books to Jamaica's Guys Hill High School, from which Levy graduated.

He said his nonprofit is trying to reverse the "brain drain" Jamaica suffers — similar to other third world countries — when those who receive higher educations leave the country to seek employment in other countries that have more resources.

"I think we can make an impact," he said.

The concert will feature tickets for a VIP area with seating for about 500, while remaining tickets will be for standing only, Levy said..

Legion Field is at 3173 Mill St. NE in Covington.

For more information on the show and tickets, https://www.eventbrite.com/e/legends-in-concert-atl-tickets-341401921337.