A benefit concert featuring popular '80s artists performing the biggest hits of their era, including Boys Don't Cry, Terri Nunn & Berlin, The Motels and Roy Hay from Culture Club, opens at the Fred Kavli Theatre in the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza on Friday, Oct. 8 at 7:30 p.m.

Actress Jane Seymour and VJ/DJMartha Quinn from MTV Sirius XM Radio will host the concert, joined by guest DJ Richard Blade.

Proceeds from the Boys Don't Cry & Friends concert will go to M.A.W.M.I. Held My H.A.A.A.N.D.S., Inc., a nonprofit corporation that assists in developing and delivering alternative neurotherapy treatments to children with neurological disorders.

"It proves that people care about the kids," said Nick Richards of Boys Don't Cry & Friends about the all-star roster lining up to play this gig.

"We have old friends from my past rallying to help sick kids, schools that are losing specialist teachers for kids with learning problems due to government budget cuts," he said.

"All you will ever hear at our shows is hit after hit after hit," he said. "We are not a tribute band. These are all original members/musicians who had some involvement in the song being performed that night --for  instance, the bass player from INXS, or Deon Estus from Wham!"

Richards plans to stage additional benefit shows with this lineup.

"Boys Don't Cry & Friends is an '80s all-star party that I will take across America raising money for the children of this country and for the public schools who so need the help," he said. "I plan one show a month eventually. My roster of friends from the '80s is growing all the time as the word spreads."

The Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza is located at 2100 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd., Thousand Oaks 91362.

Here's the event's artist lineup:

Boys Don't Cry
If you were a hip kid in 1986, your anthem was "I Wanna Be a Cowboy" by Boys Don't Cry. From the mouth of a trendsetter named Madonna (who raved to anyone listening that it was “her favorite new song”) to the airwaves of WLIR in New York to KROQ in Los Angeles, "I Wanna Be a Cowboy" was kitschy and cool. The track took on a life of its own that year, driving Boys Don't Cry to the Billboard Top 10.

Led by U.K. singer/songwriter/guitarist Nick Richards, Boys Don't Cry and "Cowboy" reached the Top 10 on the U.S. Billboard charts in 1986. The band members include Michael Licata (drummer for Ricky Martin, Savage Garden, Jermaine Stewart, Bang Tango) and guitarist Aaron McLain (Marc Anthony, Terence Trent D'Arby, Jermaine Stewart, Oleta Adams/Tears For Fears, Sheryl Crow, Beto Cuevas).

Terri Nunn & Berlin
Led by the beautiful, hard-rocking Terri Nunn, Berlin is known for energetic live shows as well as multiplatinum hits including "Take My Breath Away," “No More Words,” "Masquerade" and "The Metro.”

Roy Hay (Culture Club)
Roy Hay has sold approximately 22 million albums worldwide. Culture Club was one of the biggest pop bands of the '80s, racking up seven straight Top 10 hits in the UK and nine Top 10 singles in the US. Hits include "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me," "Time (Clock of the Heart)," "I'll Tumble 4 Ya," "Church of the Poison Mind," "Karma Chameleon," "Miss Me Blind,” "It's A Miracle" and more.

Martha Davis & The Motels
The Motels is a dominant “voice of the '80s” band best known for "Only the Lonely" and "Suddenly Last Summer," both of which peaked at  No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1982 and 1983, respectively. The Motels' "Total Control" reached No. 4 on the Australian charts in 1980.

Deon Estus (Wham!/George Michael)
Deon Estus is best known as the “third member” of Wham! and as George Michael's bassist. The highly recognizable Estus toured China with Wham!, performed at Rock in Rio, and with George Michael on his "Faith" tour. Estus has also played with Marvin Gaye, Tina Turner, Frank Zappa, George Clinton, Annie Lennox, Edgar Winter, Aaron Neville and Elton John.

Hits include "Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do)," "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go," "Careless Whisper," "Freedom," "Everything She Wants," "Last Christmas," "I'm Your Man," "A Different Corner," "The Edge of Heaven" and more. 

Fee Waybill (The Tubes)
Waybill is the lead singer of legendary American rock icon The Tubes. For years, The Tubes have shocked and entertained audiences around the world with their outrageous antics and hammering rock 'n' roll. Hits include “Talk To Ya Later,” “She’s A Beauty,” “White Punks On Dope,” “Don’t Want To Wait Anymore” and others.

Garry Beers (INXS)
Garry Beers is the bass player for legendary Australian rock band INXS. The group achieved international success with a series of hit recordings through the 1980s and 1990s, including the albums "Listen Like Thieves," "Kick," "X" and "Welcome to Wherever You Are," as well as the singles "Original Sin," "Need You Tonight," "Devil Inside" and "New Sensation." INXS has sold more than 30 million records to date.

PT5
PT5 is a brilliant up and coming teenage band brought aboard by Boys Don’t Cry leader Nick Richards. PT5 recently rocked the house at the Los Angeles “Battle of the Bands” contest and also sold out the Whiskey A-Go-Go. This new generation of rockers is opening the concert.

About the hosts:

Jane Seymour
This British beauty trained as a dancer before becoming an actress with a long career. She's tackled a number of memorable movie roles -- a Bond girl in “Live and Let Die,” an early-20th-century stage star in "Somewhere in Time," a middle-aged sex kitten in "Wedding Crashers" and many more. The Emmy winner also spent six seasons as a feisty 19th-century feminist on the American western drama "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman."

But acting is by no means Seymour's only interest: The mother of four has published several self-help and children's books and devotes much of her time to charitable causes. She also briefly returned to dancing in 2005 when she signed on to "Dancing With the Stars."

Martha Quinn
Quinn is best known as one of the original video jockeys on MTV (along with Nina Blackwood, Mark Goodman, Alan Hunter, and J.J. Jackson). In 1990, Quinn appeared on the short-lived Brady Bunch sequel "The Bradys." Quinn played Tracy, who married Bobby Brady (played by Mike Lookinland).

She joined Ed McMahon as a co-host for Star Search in 1994. She was a bi-weekly correspondent on The Early Show in 1999. She had a recurring role on Full House. SIRIUS/XM Radio hosts Martha’s radio show “The 80s on 8”, and the show is titled "Martha Quinn Presents."

M.A.W.M.I. Held My H.A.A.A.N.D.S., Inc.
"Men And Women Mentors, Inc., Helping Autism, Asperger's, ADHD, Neurological, and Dyslexic Syndromes," Inc. is dedicated to bringing the latest developments in Autism, Aspergers, ADHD, Bipolor, OCD, Conduct disorder and all neurological disorders, with the latest treatments and technology available to assist with decisions for an alternative neurotherapy treatment plan for children. It consists of new QEEG machines that are FDA-approved, and treatment machines that are also approved by the FDA, but are not available in the surrounding areas.

A portion of the concert’s proceeds will go towards the funding of two new machines: the QEEG brain mapping machine and a treatment machine for children.