Published: February 03, 2010 08:36 pm      

Another site needed for benefit concert for Haiti

Organizers seek suggestions for new venue

Due to a scheduling conflict at McHale Performing Arts Center, a benefit concert for Haiti relief has been called off — for now.

In the past few weeks, Logansport residents Alex and Lindsey Nash had been organizing an event where 100 percent of the proceeds would be sent to victims in Haiti. The married couple got four local bands on board and partnered with the Logansport High School Speech Team, which can use the McHale Performing Arts Center free of charge.

The concert was set for Feb. 20. Those involved recently realized there is a high school boys basketball game at the Berry Bowl the same night. The realization sent organizers scrambling to find a spot on McHale’s busy schedule.

McHale manager Ken Fraza confirmed that the auditorium is booked up for all but one date each in March and April. Lindsey said she felt that would be too late for the cause.

“I figured at that point it would be old news, nobody’s really going to care,” she said.

Fraza suggested Feb. 21, but Speech Team coach Jessica Kranz said she would not have her students work on a Sunday.

“Since it’s a student-run organization we can’t ask the students to give up seven days a week,” Kranz said.

Once they discovered the Feb. 20 basketball game, Kranz also decided not to compete with a school event. To host the concert without the speech team means organizers would have to pay rental fees and insurance coverage.

Lindsey said that would dip too deep into funds generated for relief so she considered pulling the plug on the concert. Her husband convinced her to continue trying.

Alex said they need a venue, but he doesn’t know where to start. He considered local taverns but he wants to make the concert a family event. Some options, he said, were other schools in Cass County. He welcomes any ideas from the public.

The show will last about four hours. They need space for four bands plus an audience. The bands include Aftershock, The Twisted Riddlers, Rude, Barb and the Beggars, and Isolated Incident, an acoustic set by Lindsey, her dad and a member of Rude, Barb and the Beggars.

The idea for the show emerged when a co-worker asked Lindsey if she had heard about the aftershock in Haiti that occurred about a week after the initial earthquake. The word “aftershock” triggered Lindsey’s inspiration because her husband is lead singer of the AC/DC cover band with the same name.

“Let’s do a benefit concert. That would be awesome,” she recalled saying.

• Kevin Lilly is news editor of the Pharos-Tribune. He can be reached at 574-732-5117 or kevin.lilly@pharostribune.com.



Have an idea?

Logansport residents Alex and Lindsey Nash would still like to have a benefit concert for Haiti relief, but they need suggestions on a suitable venue for live music. They can be reached at 574-516-1083.