With many benefit concerts, the cause is often overshadowed by the celebrity lineup. But Project Blues Soul Survivor is more than a star-studded show. It’s a personal mission.
In 2005, Mike “Bear in the Chair” Berichon lost his older sister, Shelly Berichon Rannigan, to breast cancer just three months after her diagnosis. She was 49 – far too young, Berichon lamented.
“She didn’t have health insurance. She didn’t have access to early detection,” he said. “I decided I wanted to do what I can to make sure that didn’t happen to anyone else.”
Though he wouldn’t pick up a guitar himself for a few years, Berichon had made many musician friends through his longtime involvement in local
and national blues scenes.
“I wanted to pay tribute to my sister. And I wanted to find a way to raise money and passion about blues,” he said.
Berichon founded the nonprofit Project Blues and held a concert in 2011 headlined by harmonica legend James Cotton, with proceeds going to LifeCare Alliance Cancer Services.
Project Blues has since raised nearly $500,000, and the benefit concert has grown into an annual event that lures returning fans and musicians.
Blues guitarist Jimmie Vaughan, who headlined in 2018, will return for Project Blues Soul Survivor on Sept. 5. The concert will run from 4-10 p.m. at LifeCare Alliance’s Levee Event Center, 670 Harmon Ave.
Vaughan’s previous appearance was highlighted by surprise guest Eric Clapton, who joined the Texas bluesman for “an incredible moment you can only imagine,” Berichon said.
A Blues Foundation Hall of Famer, Vaughan co-founded The Fabulous Thunderbirds, whose hit, “Tuff Enuff,” put blues-rock on the charts in the 1980s. He holds four Grammy Awards, including two for collaborations with late brother Stevie Ray.
The evening will be filled with more performances by national and local artists, as well as dinner, live auctions and recognition of cancer survivors.
The event will also mark the release of “Drivin’ Home to Carrie’s Café,” a 12-track album featuring numerous Project Blues musicians including Berichon.
General admission for Project Blues Soul Survivor costs $60 and is first-come, first-served, then standing room only. Premium general-admission table seats cost $100.
Individual VIP table seats are $300 and VIP tables for 10 people range from $3,000-$10,000.
Visit projectblues.org for tickets, the music lineup and more information.
Proceeds will continue to benefit LifeCare Alliance Cancer Services, which offer cancer prevention, education, screening support and care initiatives throughout central Ohio.
LifeCare Alliance recently gave something back: its newly christened Project Blues Waiting Room, recognizing and thanking the organization for its support.
Berichon said he never expected Project Blues to last this long, but the interest and need remain.
“It organically became a community thing that’s bigger than any of us. I thought I would do two or three shows and here we are, coming up on the 15th anniversary,” he said.
“It’s like finding and saving my sister every year.”
Contact features and entertainment reporter Belinda M. Paschal at bpaschal@dispatch.com.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Project Blues benefit concert nears $500K raised for cancer services
