Novato Tavern Holds Benefit Concert For Camp Fire Victims
NOVATO (KPIX 5) -- Musicians gathered in the North Bay on Sunday to raise money for victims who lost their homes in the Camp Fire.
The Hopmonk Tavern in Novato is hosting a ten-hour long benefit concert for fire victims, which will end at 10 p.m. Sunday evening.
One of the main acts is Greg Loiacano, a singer/songwriter and member of the well-known band "Mother Hips," which he co-founded 20 years ago in Chico.
Loiacano said that he had just finished a day-long recording session in L.A. when he heard about what was happening in his former home town.
"I felt like I was in this little world doing this work, and everyone else I knew and loved were living in some sort of horror movie," he said.
Loiacano is one of 18 acts performing at Sunday's concert, which was organized by Bay Area music promoter K.C. Turner.
Turner said it's tough to put together an event in three weeks' time, but it was easy to get his musician friends to agree to donate their talents for this particular cause.
"When I saw that, it's like, we have to do something. Unfortunately, it's becoming an annual event. We did this last year for folks up in Napa and Sonoma and Lake Counties as well," said Turner.
For the 2017 Wine Country fires, Turner helped raise more than $13,000. For this year's Camp Fire, he hit the $20,000 mark.
But beyond cash donations, Turner said that it's important to remember the tragedy didn't end when the flames were extinguished.
"It's important, even afterwards, to make sure people don't forget. These people are still homeless, they need help, they need money," said Turner.
While performers and music lovers will be in their element at the concert, there remains an uneasy feeling that the event may not be the last time they'll be counted on to help fire victims.
"There's a huge fire last year and there might be another one next year. Just to keep in mind that the fires can still be out there and can still grow," said Tom Lardner, an 11-year-old concert-goer.
Turner said that promoting the concert was simple: all he did was post about it on Facebook and it blew up on its own, with over 2,000 people joining and sharing the event with their friends.
