Buffalo Blues Benefit for Veterans announces Season II

Buffalo Blues Benefit for Veterans (BBBV) has officially announced that it is moving forward with the implementation of a highly anticipated Season II. After raising over $10,000 in Season I, organizers behind BBBV have stated that they are preparing to double that amount in Season II.

Erie County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz stands with supporters for check presentation

“I’ve done several music campaign’s for social causes going back to 1998’s ‘Buffalo Safe Schools’ project, and the 2009 ‘Tunes4food’ project too, and I’ve never seen such a rush to join a project like this one,” said Bob James, Buffalo Blues producer. “The support we are getting from musicians, venues and even elected leaders is growing and driving us to dig deeper and reach higher with the new season. Great things are in the works and we are also adding an outreach to WNY schools too, starting in November.”

"The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) estimates that 39,471 veterans are homeless on any given night."

During its inaugural year, BBBV enlisted the help of 107 musicians who performed because they believed in the cause – “support the fight for veterans ‘at-risk’ of homelessness.” This is volunteer effort has rallied the community, musicians, elected officials, to come together to support veterans that suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (“PTSD”), substance abuse, social isolation, and who are burdened by chronic medical needs.

"Along with plenty of live music up on stage the organization is planning on releasing Buffalo Blues Benefit CD, Volume 2, which includes top WNY talent."

Already, BBBV is promising to be “bigger and smarter” in Season II. “We learned and grew so much in Season I, that we are confident that we can reach our goal of doubling our donations in Season II,” reports Rick Suto, Buffalo Blues, Director of Community Support.

Lead Image: June 14, Larkin Square, Dave Constantino & Grace Lougen trade solos during the “Blues4Vets” event in front of a record audience of 1,460

While there are many elements that have not been released, Season II already has a number of gigs underway, including:

• October 21, 2017 – Launch & album release event, Sportsmens Tavern, Buffalo
• November 11, 2017 – Veterans Day, COUZINS, Hamburg
• November 25, 2017 – Country & Blues with WYRK Radio, The Cove, Depew
• January 20, 2018 – Rock n Blues, Transit Music Lounge, Depew
• May 28, 2018 – Memorial Day, Hamburg Brewing Co.
• June 2018 – Blues4Vets, KeyBank Live at Larkin
• July 4th 2018 Weekend – Season II closing event, Colden Lakes

Be sure to be a part of the BBBV mission moving forward. We need to take care of our veterans, because they chose to take care of us.

Stay tuned for all of the details by checking out www.facebook.com/BuffaloBluesBenefit.

Learn more about the initiative here.

View Original Article Credited to Buffalo Rising