thedrifter
11-01-07, 07:12 AM
A concert for a cause
Former Idol's show to aid family with ill children
By Robert Knox, Globe Correspondent | November 1, 2007
A country music concert tomorrow night will help raise money to build a house for a Plymouth family of six whose youngest child has serious health problems. Josh Gracin, who will be the headliner for the show at Plymouth Memorial Hall, is a former Marine whose career took off four years ago after an appearance on "American Idol." This will be his first performance in the region.
Producer Erik Christensen of Loretta LaRoche Productions said the performers and the cause are a good match. "We look for opportunities to bring together arts and community initiatives to improve our collective well-being," he said.
A pre-concert reception with Gracin and opener Carmen Rasmusen will raise funds for a Habitat for Humanity house to be built on Grove Street in Kingston. The project is part of Women Build, a Habitat program designed to encourage women to play leading roles in planning, fund-raising, and building the house. The house has also been designed to meet the requirements for certification by LEED as a green building, according to Joanie Winberg of Lakeville, the chief fund-raiser. The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design rating system is the recognized national benchmark for high-standard environmentally conscious buildings.
A home of their own is likely to make a big difference for the family of Jason and Katherine Silvia and their four children, who currently live in a rented two-bedroom house and care for 5-month-old Jonah, who suffers from arthrogryposis, a condition characterized by multiple joint contractures throughout the body. Jonah has scoliosis and club feet, and doctors fear he may never walk. The family's 1-year-old daughter, Hannah, has a metabolic disorder and their 5-year-old son, Noah, has asthma.
The family will attend a fund-raising reception at 6:30 p.m. upstairs in the auditorium's Blue Room before the 8 p.m. concert. The $30 event includes a "meet and greet" with the performers, plus beer and wine and appetizers. All proceeds go to Habit for Humanity of Greater Plymouth for its Women Build program.
Since appearing on "American Idol," Gracin has recorded three hit singles and a self-titled album that went gold. Rasmusen recently scored with a hit country-styled single, "Nothin' Like the Summer."
Gracin, 27, started listening to country music while growing up in Michigan. "Garth Brooks was the one who got me into country music," he said last week. The Marines were the next biggest influence. "I wanted to do the best and the hardest thing it was possible to do," Gracin said, recalling his decision to enlist at age 20. "It did amazing things for me. It gave me a sense of direction and the confidence to go for what I wanted to go for." Still in uniform at Camp Pendleton, Calif., when the opportunity to try out for "American Idol" came along, he made the cut to appear on the show.
On the air, Gracin said, performers have to choose from among the songs the show provides, but he tried to get as close as possible to a country sound.
After winning hearts on the show (though not winning the contest), he moved to Nashville and signed a record deal. Gracin's own composition, a song about his life up to the Marines called "We Weren't Crazy," will be included on his second album, currently in production.
He is married and has two children, so spending a lot of time on the road is "definitely a balancing act," he said. But "I love what I'm doing."
"In today's world, country is doing phenomenal," Christensen said.
With country and western radio stations in Boston and Providence, he said, "you would think we're in Nashville."
Tickets for both the concert and the reception may be purchased by calling 508-747-1340, online at ticketweb.com, or in person at the Memorial Hall box office at 50 Court St., Plymouth.
Robert Knox can be contacted at rc.knox@gmail.com.
Ellie
Former Idol's show to aid family with ill children
By Robert Knox, Globe Correspondent | November 1, 2007
A country music concert tomorrow night will help raise money to build a house for a Plymouth family of six whose youngest child has serious health problems. Josh Gracin, who will be the headliner for the show at Plymouth Memorial Hall, is a former Marine whose career took off four years ago after an appearance on "American Idol." This will be his first performance in the region.
Producer Erik Christensen of Loretta LaRoche Productions said the performers and the cause are a good match. "We look for opportunities to bring together arts and community initiatives to improve our collective well-being," he said.
A pre-concert reception with Gracin and opener Carmen Rasmusen will raise funds for a Habitat for Humanity house to be built on Grove Street in Kingston. The project is part of Women Build, a Habitat program designed to encourage women to play leading roles in planning, fund-raising, and building the house. The house has also been designed to meet the requirements for certification by LEED as a green building, according to Joanie Winberg of Lakeville, the chief fund-raiser. The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design rating system is the recognized national benchmark for high-standard environmentally conscious buildings.
A home of their own is likely to make a big difference for the family of Jason and Katherine Silvia and their four children, who currently live in a rented two-bedroom house and care for 5-month-old Jonah, who suffers from arthrogryposis, a condition characterized by multiple joint contractures throughout the body. Jonah has scoliosis and club feet, and doctors fear he may never walk. The family's 1-year-old daughter, Hannah, has a metabolic disorder and their 5-year-old son, Noah, has asthma.
The family will attend a fund-raising reception at 6:30 p.m. upstairs in the auditorium's Blue Room before the 8 p.m. concert. The $30 event includes a "meet and greet" with the performers, plus beer and wine and appetizers. All proceeds go to Habit for Humanity of Greater Plymouth for its Women Build program.
Since appearing on "American Idol," Gracin has recorded three hit singles and a self-titled album that went gold. Rasmusen recently scored with a hit country-styled single, "Nothin' Like the Summer."
Gracin, 27, started listening to country music while growing up in Michigan. "Garth Brooks was the one who got me into country music," he said last week. The Marines were the next biggest influence. "I wanted to do the best and the hardest thing it was possible to do," Gracin said, recalling his decision to enlist at age 20. "It did amazing things for me. It gave me a sense of direction and the confidence to go for what I wanted to go for." Still in uniform at Camp Pendleton, Calif., when the opportunity to try out for "American Idol" came along, he made the cut to appear on the show.
On the air, Gracin said, performers have to choose from among the songs the show provides, but he tried to get as close as possible to a country sound.
After winning hearts on the show (though not winning the contest), he moved to Nashville and signed a record deal. Gracin's own composition, a song about his life up to the Marines called "We Weren't Crazy," will be included on his second album, currently in production.
He is married and has two children, so spending a lot of time on the road is "definitely a balancing act," he said. But "I love what I'm doing."
"In today's world, country is doing phenomenal," Christensen said.
With country and western radio stations in Boston and Providence, he said, "you would think we're in Nashville."
Tickets for both the concert and the reception may be purchased by calling 508-747-1340, online at ticketweb.com, or in person at the Memorial Hall box office at 50 Court St., Plymouth.
Robert Knox can be contacted at rc.knox@gmail.com.
Ellie