CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — Bands from all over Okinawa will come together for the Tsunami Aid Concert from 2 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 19, at the Camp Foster Performing Arts Center.
Tickets are $10 and available now through all Okinawa USO offices, Kubasaki High School’s JROTC and the Kadena National Honor Society. Planners will sell up to 500 tickets before the concert, then release an undetermined number of tickets at the gate as capacity allows. The Okinawan general public is allowed to enter Camp Foster through the Kitamae gate between noon and 10 p.m. for the event.
All concert revenue will go to the Red Cross International Response fund, said event co-planner and Kubasaki High School teacher Christopher Dickinson. Almost all labor, equipment and services from a host of vendors are being donated to the concert.
“The outpouring of compassion has been phenomenal,” Dickinson said. “There hasn’t been anyone who we’ve asked for support who has said, ‘No, we can’t do that.’”
The money raised will go toward basic items such as food, supplies, tents and health supplies for tsunami victims. The American Red Cross will pay separately for administrative costs.
Chesty’s NCO Club will sell food, but there will be no alcohol sales at the event.
Bands scheduled to perform include Murasaki, David Ralston, 8-Ball, Katchan Band, Stormwatch, Handsome Stranger, Bogey’s Company, Tenebrous Portrait and John Carter. Novelty acts, including an illusionist, will perform between some of the music sets.
“The interest from the bands has been great,” said Jack Davies, another event co-planner along with Maxx Gallo and Troy Black. “We probably had another 10 groups that wanted to play but we just didn’t have enough time for everyone to perform.”
A tsunami relief concert already had been on some performers’ minds. Ralston said at his recent CD release party that he’d discussed the idea with local music fixture George Murasaki. “Three minutes later, I was approached by Chris Dickinson,” Ralston said. “I said, ‘Anything we can do to help out, we’re all about it.’”
The bands’ musical styles vary. Ralston combines blues and rock riffs with traditional Okinawan music. Carter is a country singer who plays at The Harley Bar across the street from the Kitamae gate. Multiple bands play classic rock, while Tenebrous Portrait, the only high-school band on the list, plays more contemporary music.
All performances at the concert will be family-friendly, organizers said.
