On the surface, the Beach Boys and Vic Chesnutt are among the most polar opposite artists you could draw inspiration from. The former embodied California optimism and pristine, grand vocal harmonies; the latter made album after album of piercingly intimate Southern gothic folk rooted in literature and his harrowing life story. But then again, "God Only Knows" is kind of the saddest song ever written, and until Chesnutt's suicide last year, he seemed to have made peace with the idea of death and redemption on his final album.

A bevy of L.A. folk-inclined artists will explore the legacies of each at "A Tribute to the Beach Boys:  A Backyard Benefit in Support of the Sweet Relief Musician's Fund" on June 19.

If you ever need a clear example of the institutionalized cruelty of the American healthcare system, ask Vic Chesnutt.

After a car crash left him a paraplegic as a teen, the Georgia singer-songwriter beat long odds to become one of the great wits of contemporary art-folk. He's lately ridden a fine streak of collaborative albums with members of the Canadian collective Godspeed You! Black Emperor, including his latest, the death-obsessed yet weirdly uplifting "At the Cut."

But there's an albatross that follows Chesnutt from the door of his home to every show he plays. Though he's currently insured, an accumulating stream of nearly $70,000 worth of unpaid hospital bills is threatening to swallow much of his livelihood as a songwriter. It's left him in an unprecedented condition --  one where he's at a loss for words.

"I'm not too eloquent talking about these things," Chesnutt said. "I was making payments, but I can't anymore and I really have no idea what I'm going to do. It seems absurd they can charge this much. When I think about all this, it gets me so furious. I could die tomorrow because of other operations I need that I can't afford. I could die any day now, but I don't want to pay them another nickel."