yelvisthecat2 has posted videos from the Neil Abercrombie for Governor fundraiser last week. Here’s a couple, but he has posted 8 segments from the show at his site. Follow the link over to YouTube to see them all. Thanks, Y-Elvis!
Archive for the ‘Good causes’ Category
Willie Nelson & Friends at Neil Abercrombie for Governor Fundraiser (8/24/2010)
Tuesday, August 31st, 2010Willie Nelson at the Neil Abercrombie rally (8/24/2010)
Friday, August 27th, 2010
And as if living in Hawaii isn’t cool enough, lucky Shelly Brown was one of the lucky who attended the Neil Abercrombie for Governor fundraiser, and got to see Willie Nelson & friends in concert. Tom Conway and his band played, as well as Willie K. Willie and Abercrombie are old friends. Shelly sent along more great photos from Charles Bateman, who was also at the show.
Shelly wrote:
“The concert was opened up by Willie K who wowed the crowd with an incredible artistic rendition of “We Are The World”. Willie K impressions of all the singers included the Dion Warwick and Willie Nelson duet portion of the song and the crowd went crazy over this song.
“Then Willie Nelson and Tom Conway’s band took the stage and the crowd went ballistic.
The playlist went pretty much like this:
Whiskey River
Good Hearted-Woman
Crazy/HelloWalls/Nightlife medley
Always on My Mind
Nobody’s Fault but Mine
I’ll Fly Away
Circle Will Be Unbroken
(Willie then asked the crowd if they wanted to hear Hank Williams; we all said hell yeah)
Move it On Over
Jambalaya
Blue Eyes Cryin in the Rain
On the Road Again
I Saw the Light
Before the crowd could even ask for a “Hana Hou” (“Do it Again” in Hawaiian), Willie asked us, “Do Y’all Mind if we play one more?” This left the crowd totally disarmed. Willie mirrored a local, very humble style that the crowd loved.
Willie’s lovely wife, Annie, was close at hand throughout the concert and actually acted as a stage hand at times, grabbing Willie’s electric Fender guitar and Tom Conway’s guitar and leads and other items. She was the epitome of aloha.
The crowd left feeling bonded together with Willie and Neil Abercrombie’s vision of what Hawaii and America can be.
After the concert me and my new friends from very different corners of America were treated to a rare vision of a Waikiki lunar moon rainbow. We all toasted Willie for this special Hawaii treat.”
Mahalo, and much aloha,
Shelly R, Brown, and Charles Bateman Jr
Willie Nelson & Friends in Honolulu, at Neil Abercrombie Fundraiser (8/24/2010)
Wednesday, August 25th, 2010
Thanks so much to Charles E. Bateman Jr., for letting me share his photos from the Neil Abercrombie fundraiser yesterday in Hawaii. Willie Nelson, pictured here with Tom Conway from Maui, who also performed at the concert, is a long time friend of Abercrombie.
(Oh, and you can check out Tom’s music at www.TomConwayguitar.com.)
Here is Charles Bateman, Jr., pictured with Willie:
“Hey, Nashville: Get Your Boots On”; Charlie Daniels hosts Nashville concert to benefit returning vets (9/13/10)
Monday, August 23rd, 2010
On September 13, 2010, Charlie Daniels, Marcus Luttrell and the Boot Girls will perform at a fundraiser in Nashville called, “Get Your Boots On, Nashville.” Funds raised from the event will support veterans and their families, and other Boots Girls’ charities to benefit those in need.
The event will be hosted by the Nashville Palm Restaurant, and will benefit Stars for Stripes and the Boot Campaign for the Lone Survivor Foundation. Daniels, along with wife Hazel, will host the event, along with Luttrell and Karri Turner of TV’s “J.A.G.” For more information and tickets, call Paige Dixon at (615) 742-3193.
The fundraiser will be held a day prior to the release of the special compilation album entitled, “When They Come Back,” with profits from the sale of the album will also be used to benefit returning service men and women. Artists participating in the compilation album include Aaron Watson, Bleu Edmondson, Cross Canadian Ragweed, Eli Young Band, Derek Sholl, Jason Boland, Micky and the Motorcars, No Justice, Randy Rogers Band, Reckless Kelly, Stoney Larue, Wade Bowen and Robert Earl Keen.
Also, this year, the Country for our Country concert, in memory of the men and women who were killed on 9/11, will be held on Sat., Sept. 11 at the Villa di Felicita, and will feature music by country music icons Phil Vassar, Heidi Newfield, Derek Sholl and Kacey Musgraves. Luttrell will be the Honored Guest of the evening. As stated on the Country for our Country website, the event “has been formed for the purpose of raising money and/or assets for the assistance of those in need. Primary beneficiaries will be military wounded and their families.” All of the funds raised support military veterans in achieving higher education or vocational opportunities.
For more information regarding the Boot Campaign and these upcoming events, visit www.bootcampaign.com
Willie Nelson to perform at Neil Abercrombie for Governor fundraiser tomorrow (8/24/2010)
Monday, August 23rd, 2010
Willie Nelson to headline NASCAR Salute Our Troups concert (11/6/2010)
Thursday, August 19th, 2010
COUNTRY MUSIC LEGEND WILLIE NELSON TO HEADLINE AMERICAN RED CROSS “SALUTE OUR TROOPS” PRE-RACE SHOW PRIOR TO NOVEMBER’S AAA TEXAS 500
Special $79 ‘Mosh Pit’ Ticket Provides Exclusive Access To Pre-Race Entertainment, Driver Intros For Chase For The NASCAR Sprint Cup Event
Country music icon Willie Nelson will serve as the headliner for the American Red Cross “Salute Our Troops” Pre-Race Show prior to the AAA Texas 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race on Sunday, Nov. 7, at Texas Motor Speedway.
Nelson will perform a 45-minute concert featuring his legendary songs on the frontstretch stage beginning at 12:30 p.m. CT. Nelson’s performance will be the feature act of the 2½-hour pre-race show leading up to the 2 p.m. CT green flag of the AAA Texas 500, the eighth race in the 10-event Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.
“We’ve always wanted Willie Nelson to perform at ‘The Great American Speedway!’ since we opened and we are proud to finally land the country music icon,” Texas Motor Speedway President Eddie Gossage said. “Having Texas’ most recognizable country music singer play for the largest sporting event in the Lone Star State is only appropriate.”
Nelson, a native of Abbott, Texas, has been performing for more than a half century. His smash hits include “Always On My Mind,” “Mammas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys,” “Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain,” and “On The Road Again.” His countless hits have led to 10 Grammy Awards, including the Legend Award in 1990 and Lifetime Achievement Award in 1999.
Prior to his success as a singer, Nelson excelled as a songwriter as he helped Patsy Cline (“Crazy”) and Billy Walker (“Funny How Time Slips Away”) write songs that have become synonymous with country music. His accomplishments as a singer/songwriter earned him a spot in the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1993.
Fans can enjoy the concert right in front of the stage by purchasing a special $79 “mosh pit” ticket that allows fans to enjoy the best vantage point in the facility for the concert, Sprint Cup Series driver introductions and all the American Red Cross “Salute Our Troops” Pre-Race Show festivities. A AAA Texas 500 grandstand ticket must be accompanied with a “mosh pit” ticket.
To purchase “mosh pit” tickets for the American Red Cross “Salute Our Troops” Pre-Race Show featuring Willie Nelson or tickets to the AAA Texas 500, visit www.texasmotorspeedway.com or call the Texas Motor Speedway ticket office at (817) 215-8500.
http://www.speedwaymedia.com/articles/pr/pr.asp?pr=081810080325
Willie Nelson performs for patients at Brooke Army Medical Center (2/17/06)
Wednesday, August 18th, 2010
Staff and patients gather on three levels to watch Willie Nelson and his band perform Feb. 17 at Brooke Army Medical Center. — Photo by Brian Guerra
www.ourmilitary.mil
by Nelia Schrum and Andricka Hammonds
SAN ANTONIO, Feb. 23, 2006 - When the 2006 San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo pulled up stakes Feb. 19, it left the wounded warriors recovering at Brooke Army Medical Center here and hospital staff with fond memories of Texas and cowboy hospitality.
Texas legend Willie Nelson and his family band treated the hospital to a concert in the Medical Mall Feb. 17, playing to a packed audience of staff and patients. Opening with his hit, “Whiskey River,” he sang signature ballads like “On the Road Again,” “Crazy” and “Mamas, Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Cowboys.”
Nelson played for 90 minutes. Following his performance, he signed autographs and posed for pictures with patients and staff for another hour.
The Willie Nelson band played at BAMC in February 2005 performing 11 numbers. But Nelson had to cut his performance for the 2005 Stock Show and Rodeo because he was suffering from laryngitis.
“I wanted to come back again and play for the soldiers because I didn’t feel I had performed at my best last year,” Nelson said, adding his throat since has recovered.
Heroes Night Out Ride (Saturday, August 21th)
Tuesday, August 17th, 2010
Budrock “the Illuminator” Prewitt, Lighting Director for Willie Nelson & Family is enjoying some time off from the road, and will ride on Saturday.
Heroes Night Out (HNO) provides an opportunity for soldiers who were saved on the battlefield but too severely injured to return to active duty to get a break and get the much needed family time with an Appreciation Wallet. Each wallet contains six (6) $50 gift cards for a ‘Night Out’ with their families, friends, and/or caregivers—a much needed stress reliever to heal their hearts.About Heroes Night Out – www.heroesnightout.org
Here is buddy on a different ride, in Colorado:
Heroes Night Out (HNO) supports wounded soldiers in WTU’s or Wounded Transitional Units. These soldiers are saved on the battlefield but too severely injured to return to active duty. We’re losing them to crime, divorce, and suicide, each at historic record levels. These soldiers are being ‘transitioned’ to another job or, more commonly, ‘med-ed out’ of service. The severity of their injuries decides their fate. The transition period is riddled with surgeries, evaluations, and uncertainty. (more…)
Vote for “Bon Jovi Baby” and get Aaron’s mortgage paid for a year
Tuesday, August 10th, 2010
Here’s the direct link to vote:
http://homemadememories.taylormorrison.com/microsite/index.aspx#/home
Willie Nelson & Family crew member Aaron has entered a contest to get his mortgage paid for a year, and we can help. Thanks to Jo-Jo, not her real name but I call her that, for passing along this note someone passed to her at the Red Bank, NJ show. Here’s the deal: Aaron submitted a video to www.TaylorMorrison.com, and whichever video gets the most votes, gets their mortgage paid for a year.
Aaron’s video is in finalist’s circle, but the voting doesn’t start until August 16th. So, to watch his really cute video of a baby rocking to Bon Jovi music, and vote for it, on August 16th, follow this link to www.TaylorMorrison.com, and click on the “Bon Jovi Baby.” and vote.
Good luck Aaron and Sydney
Do Something Wild: Help Save a Wild Horse
Monday, August 9th, 2010
This is no cool magic trick: All those beautiful wild horses you see racing across the western plains are rapidly disappearing. Bad decisions by people, not magic wands, are the problem. The horses need your help to survive.
You can send a message to Washington, D.C. that the horses should be respected and protected. (Visit this site and print out 2 copies of the drawing above for full size drawing), color them in however you want, sign your name, and mail one to each of your U.S. Senators in Washington, D.C. You can even write your own message about the need to protect these national treasures on the back if you wish.
INSTRUCTIONS:
1.) Print out and color in 2 copies of the picture above (click on the image for full size drawing).
2.) Visit www.compassionindex.org to find the names and addresses of your U.S. Senators (each state has 2).
3.) Sign your drawings, put them in stamped, addressed envelopes and drop them in the mail.
4.) Print out some more copies of this drawing and share it with friends, classmates and family and ask them to send their own drawing in support of America’s wild horses.
Willie Nelson to perform at Neil Abercrombie for Governor fundraiser, in Oahu (8/24/10)
Sunday, August 1st, 2010Guitar for Vets, at PremierGuitars.com
Saturday, July 31st, 2010Alan Harrison, E6 Boatswains Mate 1st Class, is a 21-year US Navy veteran who’s taking part in the Guitars for Vets program at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Photo by Tim Evans
www.premierguitar.com
by Elianne Halbersberg
In the time it takes to read this story, another US serviceman or servicewoman will lose their life. It won’t be to an IED on the battlefields of Iraq or Afghanistan. It will be to suicide on the battlefield of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and depression—right here at home. Every day, 19 soldiers take their own lives. Fifty percent of our homeless population is made up of veterans, and more than 250,000 veterans now suffer from PTSD. A 2004 Department of Defense study estimates that 17 to 20 percent of soldiers returning from Iraq “suffer from major depression, generalized anxiety, or PTSD.” And according to a 2008 report cited in Tears of a Warrior: A Family’s Story of Combat and Living with PTSD—a book the Veterans Administration uses in its PTSD treatment program— roughly 40,000 troops have been diagnosed since 2003.
It’s easy to slap a “Support Our Troops” magnet on the back of a vehicle to show solidarity in times of deployment, but where is that support when these men and women come home physically and emotionally broken? Where do they turn when society is not informed or empathetic enough to understand their state of mind, or when they are shamed into silence by the stigma of “mental illness”?
These are crucial questions too often left both unasked and unanswered. However, two guitarists with their hearts in the right place are doing their best to make a difference. Guitar instructor Patrick Nettesheim and guitar-playing Vietnam War veteran Dan Van Buskirk decided to take matters into their own hands by creating Guitars for Vets (G4V), a unique form of music therapy they’re taking to VA medical centers.
Founded in 2008, Guitars for Vets is a nonprofit that provides six free, one-on-one guitar lessons and a new acoustic guitar to veterans in recovery. Its mission is simple: Turn the guitar into a source of healing, communication, and self-expression. Veterans enrolled in the program receive their own new Oscar Schmidt acoustic guitar at their sixth lesson, and thereafter they can continue learning through group lessons. G4V began in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, but has chapters in several other states—as well as one in Afghanistan—and it’s receiving requests from VA centers across the country. Six strings at a time, it’s working miracles
Willie Nelson & Family with Patch Adams, Charlottesville, VA (7/24/10)
Sunday, July 25th, 2010
Thanks to Dee, from Virginia, for sharing pictures she took last night at the Willie Nelson & Family show in Charlottesville, Virginia. The show helped raise funds for Patch Adams Gesundheit! Institute – a home-based free hospital. Dr. Adams, who says he wants to put the “care” in healthcare, was on hand and enjoying the show.
Dee and Lukas Nelson, of the Promise of the Real, who opened up the show for WN&F.
Dee and Budrock “The Illuminator” Prewitt (lighting director for Willie Nelson & Family)
Here’s a picture of Dee and Willie, from 1990.
Willie Nelson and Patch Adams: music, and laughter, for a good cause
Thursday, July 22nd, 2010
www2.dailyprogress.com
By Mary Alice Blackwell
He has performed with some of the biggest names in county, pop, rock, blues, jazz and reggae.
On Saturday night, the outlaw of country music will be paired with the clown prince of medicine.
Oh, they may not be singing together, but Nelson and his family will be at the Charlottesville Pavilion to help raise funds and awareness for Patch Adams’ Teaching Center and Clinic.
While just about everybody on the face of the earth has heard of Nelson, Adams also has a sizable reputation in the medical field. It even spilled over into entertainment circles in 1998, when Robin Williams starred in “Patch Adams,” a movie based on Adams’ life.
There is also a bit of local connection. Patch Adams the man went to medical school at Virginia Commonwealth University. “Patch Adams” the movie was directed by University of Virginia graduate and “Evan Almighty” director Tom Shadyac.
In the film, Williams deftly portrayed how the doctor used laughter, love and creativity in the healing process. The clinic in the film is almost a model of the real 40-bed clinic Adams wants to build in Pocahontas County in West Virginia.
Proceeds from Nelson’s concert will help raise money to raise the roof, walls, door and windows on Adams’ clinic.
Dr. Adams will attend the concert and will speak about his ideals of love, compassion and joy just before Nelson takes the stage. The director of the Gesundheit! Institute – a home-based free hospital – says he wants to put the “care” in healthcare.
And Nelson is no stranger to helping out a caring cause. For 25 years, his name has been linked to Farm Aid. He’s also linked to some of the most memorable music of our era.
His latest album, “American Classic,” is a brand-new collection of American standards. Among the familiar names he drew in for this project were Norah Jones and Diana Krall.
But that’s the way of Willie. Not only is he an extraordinary talented writer and performer on his own, he has had phenomenal success when he collaborates with others.
He and Waylon Jennings were labeled outlaws when they stepped outside what was the expected norm of country music. But their hits, including “Mamas, Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Cowboys” and “Good Hearted Woman” – made those outside the country circles take notice.
Of course, Willie is known for some of the most beautiful of country’s songs, including “On the Road Again” and “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain.” He also is a gifted writer, penning “Crazy” for Patsy Cline. (He was even in Winchester last year to dedicate the Patsy Cline Theatre.)
And he has performed alongside county’s legends – Johnny Cash and Merle Haggard.
But the 10-time braided Grammy winner also climbed in the pop charts with “Always on My Mind.”
He recorded “To All the Girls I Loved Before” with Julio Iglesias and his more recent singing partners have included Wynton Marsalis (“Two Men With the Blues”), Asleep at the Wheel and Ziggy Marley. Dave Matthews, another local connection, also has shared the stage with Nelson.
On Saturday, however, Willie Nelson will sing with his family, but he will partner with Patch Adams.
Music soothes the soul … while laughter is the best medicine.
Willie Nelson Raises Funds to Raise Patch Adams’ Free Hospital’s Roof
Friday, July 9th, 2010
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA. – June 12, 2010
Country singer-songwriter, Willie Nelson, will be performing Saturday, July 24 at the Charlottesville Pavilion to raise money for the construction of the Patch Adams Teaching Center & Clinic, housed on 320 acres of land in West Virginia, one of the nation’s poorest states. The Clinic is based on the model presented in the 1998 Robin Williams movie “Patch Adams.” The concert intends to raise enough money to put the clinic “under roof,” that is, build only the basic structure (walls, doors, windows) before the end of this summer.
Dr. “Patch” Adams, M.D. will attend the Willie Nelson concert, and will speak about the ideals of love, compassion, and joy by which he strives to reaffirm the “care” in healthcare at 7:00pm prior to the show.
The Teaching Center & Clinic will provide sleeping, eating and meeting accommodations, and will host an extensive research library of over 100,000 titles. Dr. Adams says the hospital will be “funny- looking, full of surprises and magic,” construction will include a school for teaching the study of joy, love and caring.
Central to Dr. Patch Adams’ vision is to treat patients beyond X-rays and laboratory tests, and instead treat the whole patient, not just the disease. For example, doctors will routinely spend 4-5 hours with patients just for initial interviews to get to really know the patient. Dr. Adams says, “A physician’s job is not merely to treat the disease, but also to treat the patient. Our hospital erases the concept of debt in the medical interaction and replace it with the concept that you belong to a community that cares about you. We wish to transform health care through the power of positive model.”
Tickets for this extraordinary event can be purchased at www.charlottesvillepavilion.com, 877-C-PAV-TIX (272-8849), select Crossroads and Plan 9 stores and at the downtown Charlottesville Visitor’s Center. For more information on the Patch Adams Teaching Center & Clinic, please visit www.patchadams.org.
About Patch Adams & Gesundheit!
Patch Adams, MD, is a physician, performer, international speaker, social activist, and founder and director of the Gesundheit! Institute, Arlington, Va. The institute has provided free medical care to thousands of patients since it began in 1971. He has devoted 35 years to changing the U.S. Health care delivery system. An internationally known speaker on wellness, joy, humor, love, and health care and the healthcare system, Adams believes that love, laughter, joy, and creativity are an integral part of a context for the healing process.
The Gesundheit! Institute started a home-based free hospital. In 1980, Gesundheit! bought a 317-acre farm in Pocahontas County, West Virginia. Adams plans to build a 40-bed rural community hospital on the property, based on his model for healthcare delivery–compassionate care provided free, integrating all the healing arts. Joyful service is a vital part of this model.
