This concert is about raising voices — and money — for a good cause.
Gary Racan and Studio E Band will take the stage at 3 p.m. Sunday at the Seton Hill Performing Arts Center in Greensburg. The Greensburg-based group hosts Warriors Rock concerts to help with funds for veterans through Warriors Rock, a nonprofit organization.
Proceeds from the performance will benefit Westmoreland County Veterans of the War on Terror Monument.
Sam Wagner, a retired colonel with the Army Reserves from Hempfield, is founder and president of the Westmoreland County Veterans of the War on Terror. He has been instrumental in getting the monument erected at the Patriot’s Day Plaza in Twin Lakes Park, near Greensburg.
“It is an awesome feeling that the hometown band wants to support us,” Wagner said. “That means a lot.”
The band performs 10-12 such concerts a year to help veterans. They already have a dozen scheduled for 2020.
Warriors Rock at Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center on April 7, 2018 from Warriors Rock on Vimeo.
Each show is different because performers invite veterans to be part of the show,” said Kim Racan, wife of Gary Racan, band member and co-founder of Warriors Rock. Audience members can meet the servicemen and women who choose a song for the band to sing.
Warriors Rock is dedicated to improving the quality of life of America’s military veterans and their families, said Racan. “If people are hearing about this event for the first time, I want them to know it’s not a rock concert,” Racan said. “It’s music from all decades and different genres.”
Songs range from Journey’s “Faithfully” to Toby Keith’s “American Soldier” to Neil Diamond’s “America.”
“You listen to a veteran tell his or her story and then you hear the song they’ve chosen and you experience a range of emotions,” Racan says. “There is nothing like music to create nostalgia.”
Tickets are $25, $15 for veterans, students and seniors
Upcoming shows
Sept. 14
Pittsburgh Playhouse, Downtown Pittsburgh
Nov. 10
Connellsville Area High School, Connellsville
Details: warriorsrock.org
