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Rhythm & Blues Rendezvous to raise money for Shriners Hospital

Anyone planning on attending the fourth annual Rhythm & Blues Rendezvous at Rockport State Park on Aug. 4, should come prepared with sunscreen, a lawn chair and to have some fun, said event co-producer Greg Daniels.

The tunes will be provided by six bands Brother Chunky Band, Main Street Revelators, The Parchman Farm Freedom Riders, Control Burn, George Gregory Band and House of Cards, he said.

"There will be endless live music from one o’clock in the afternoon until 10 o’clock at night, and a barbecue will be offered until everyone stops eating," Daniels said during an interview with The Park Record. "Nicholas & Sons has donated 500 hamburger patties and the buns have been donated by Sara Lee, and the Park City Walmart, the Kamas Food Town and Joe’s Country Market will donate the rest of the condiments."

Funds raised from the barbecue will benefit the Salt Lake City Shriners Hospital’s arts and recreation budget.

"It will be used to buy musical instruments, art supplies and help pay for art and music teachers," Daniels said. "Some of the money will be used for field trips, so the kids’ minds will be occupied and off their problems."

The Rhythm & Blues Rendezvous has always been a fundraiser, Daniels said.

"Four years ago, a bunch of us musicians got together to raise money for a fellow musician’s neighbor whose son was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer," he said.

The event was put together in less than three weeks and raised $1,621.77.

"Shortly thereafter, we were approached by Shriners Hospital in Salt Lake City to raise funds for them and we’ve been doing that for the past three years," Daniels said. "This year we hope to raise $10,000 or $12,000."

In addition to the food and tunes, there will be opportunity drawings for more than 150 items featuring concert tickets at Red Butte Garden and the State Room, as well as dinners at 350 Main Brasserie and the Spur Bar & Grill, Daniels explained.

The event also gives the musicians a chance to perform with each other again.

"In addition to the six bands, two jam sessions are scheduled in the lineup," Daniels said.

The first will be a Rick Welter Memorial Tribute Jam, which is by invitation only.

"Rick was a member of the Tempo Timers," Daniels said. "He was a good buddy in the Utah music community for what seems like forever who passed away past March.

"I think a lot of the old guys will come out woodwork to play," he said. "We’ll have members of the Tempo Timers along with some of the other friends and musicians who have played with Rick throughout the years up on stage."

The second session will be an all-star jam, open to anyone and led by Harry Lee, who, along with Daniels, Brian Kelm and Mike Ricks, are the producers of the Rhythm & Blues Rendezvous.

"As we all got older, we started to miss seeing each other," he explained. "Some of these guys I’ve known for 25 or 30 years, and we thought if we created a rendezvous, we’d have an excuse for all of us musicians and our families to gather together and enjoy some good food and music."

Throughout the past four years, the Rhythm & Blues Rendezvous has grown "miraculously," he said.

"Each time we put it on, it gets to be a challenge because there are more and more musicians who volunteer to play, but that’s a testament of the quality of people in our musical community," Daniels said. "It means something to all of us who have all spent 30, 40 and 50 years learning our craft.

"We had talked about doing something like this for a while, because giving something back to the community meant a lot to all of us," he said.

The fourth annual Rhythm & Blues Rendezvous will be held at Rockport State Park on Saturday, Aug. 4, from 1 p.m. until 10 p.m. The event, a fundraiser for Shriners Hospital in Salt Lake City, is free with admission to the park, which is $9 a carload. The food costs extra. For more information, visit http://www.rnbrendezvous.org.


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