Johnny Depp made a surprise appearance at the People Have the Power: A Celebration of Patti Smith tribute event - two months after she collapsed on stage at a show in Brazil.

Huge names descended on New York City's legendary Carnegie Hall to honour the punk poet laureate and singer, 78, on Wednesday night.

The evening featured dazzling performances by Bruce Springsteen, Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Michael Stipe of R.E.M., and many more.

The Boss and Flea joined forces on a rousing rendition of Because the Night, Smith and Springsteen's 1978 hit.

Karen O gave a hair-raising performance of Smith's 1975 classic Gloria, while Depp made a surprise appearance to perform Dancing Barefoot alongside Alison Mosshart of The Kills.

Smith and Depp have shared a close bond for many years.

They grew close after her own sibling passed away and the Pirates of the Caribbean star inspired her song Nine from her 2012 LP Banga.

She told The Sun at the time: 'I met Johnny about five years ago. He and Vanessa (Paradis, his then-wife) and their daughter came to my concert in Los Angeles and said hello backstage. 

'We just really hit it off. I lost my brother and really mourned him, and it felt like he sent Johnny Depp to be my new brother.'

At a playback of the album, Smith shared: 'I went to visit him [Depp] in Puerto Rico when he was filming Rum Diary. It was his birthday, and I didn't have a present, so I wrote him a song.'

Hollywood stars Scarlett Johansson, Michael Shannon, and Sean Penn also took part by reading some of Smith's poetry.

The magical night culminated with a performance of People Have the Power, which saw Smith join the majority of the night's performers onstage.

All proceeds from the star-studded event will help fund music education for underprivileged youth.

The event comes after back in January Patti broke her silence after she collapsed on stage before being rushed off in a wheelchair during a presentation in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

The iconic singer played down the incident as she took to Instagram with a beaming snap to assure fans she was 'fine' despite a second show at the venue being cancelled at the time.

Patti explained that she'd felt ill in the aftermath of a migraine which resulted in 'dizziness' and was examined by a doctor before retuning to stage in the wheelchair. 

She penned: 'This is letting everyone know that I am fine. Had a small incident, left the stage, and returned 10 minutes later and talked to the people, told them I was fine and sang them Wing and Because The Night'.

'I was checked out by an excellent Doctor and was absolutely fine.

Before adding: 'With all the strife in the world, this explainable incident does not merit so much attention. Thank you everyone for your concern. Trust me I am fine.(sic)'.

But despite Patti's reassurance about her health, a second show was cancelled on medical advice so that the Because the Night hitmaker could get back to 'her best'.

Soundwalk Collective wrote on their Instagram Story: 'Dear friends it is with much sadness that we have decided to cancel tonight's performance at Teatro Cultura Artistica.

'Patti is now recovering strongly but our caring doctors say she needs a little more time to be at her best.

'We can't be thankful enough for your continuous love, support and understanding, and for all the messages and wishes of swift recovery that we have received.

'We can't wait to be back in Sao Paolo as soon as possible. With love, Soundwalk Collective and Patti Smith.'

Reports at the time suggested the Gloria singer had fallen around 30 minutes into the performance and remained on the ground for several minutes before receiving assistance.

Video footage posted on social media showed Patti later returning to the stage in a wheelchair and apologising to the crowd.

She told the audience: 'You've been so patient and unfortunately I got sick and the doctor said I can't finish so we will have to figure something. I feel very badly.'

The audience responded in English: 'Don't be! We love you!' 

Cultura Artística Theater, a small concert hall in downtown Sao Paulo, said the artist had been experiencing a severe migraine in recent days and felt dizzy on stage during her performance.

'She's being attended to by the best doctors and our team,' the theater said in a statement on Instagram. Cultura Artística did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Patti had been in Sao Paulo for a two-day presentation of the 'Correspondences' project with the Berlin-based group Soundwalk Collective. 

During the performance, she recited some of her writings alongside musicians.

Soundwalk Collective said that Smith had suffered from an intense migraine for the past couple of days.

But she 'still wanted to be there for all of us and you and perform, the group posted a statement, signed by them and Smith, to their Instagram stories.