Local Port Washington residents have joined together to organize an end of the summer concert that will benefit a Port-based nonprofit organization. The group of residents—including Josh Speisman, Michael Scotto, Elana Hayden, Dave Diamond and Lee Anne Vetrone—will be putting on a pop and rock concert called End of Summer Jam at the John Philip Sousa Bandshell on Sept. 16 from 3 to 7 p.m. with a portion of the proceeds raised from the concert going toward Spectrum Designs.
“Since I moved to town about five years ago or so, I always thought there should be more events at the Sousa Bandshell,” said Speisman. “It’s an amazing place in our town, but besides the great Friday night big band concerts that the John Philip Sousa Memorial Bandshell Committee puts on there, it mostly goes unused. I just thought it would be awesome to have rock ‘n’ roll, jazz, funk, world music happening there, basically stuff I love to listen to.”
After Speisman found out that neighbor Scotto was on the John Philip Sousa Memorial Bandshell Committee, he soon learned that the committee was looking for new ways to draw younger families from the community to their events. One of the stipulations to put on the concert Speisman envisioned was to make sure the event had ties to the community.
“I thought what better way to do that than to have kids from Port Washington performing and that’s when I approached Bach To Rock to see if they wanted to be involved,” said Speisman. “They jumped at the chance.”
Along with the Bach To Rock bands, which Hayden organized, Port Washington musician Dave Diamond and Friends will perform the music of The Band, The Allman Brothers and The Grateful Dead.
In meeting discussions about the concert, the group was throwing around ideas about how to raise funds to pay for the concert, so they decided that if they were going to ask the community to donate, it would be great to raise funds for a local nonprofit as well.
“I immediately thought of Spectrum Designs,” said Speisman. “They have been amazingly helpful in guiding me on how to get the word out. We’ve raised enough for the event but are hoping for a big push so we can make an impact for Spectrum.”
The event is free. To donate, visit the GoFundMe page at www.gofundme.com/vhcc8v-concert-for-a-cause. Those who donate $50 or more, will receive a concert T-shirt designed by Spectrum Designs.
What do you think about this concert? Share your thoughts with me by email at cclaus@antonmediagroup.com.
