Rich Hall and friends performed in concert at the Sapphire Room on Sunday night. Rich is a septuagenarian who just happens to be in a winning battle with pancreatic cancer. During the concert Rich offered heartfelt thanks to the Doctors and exceptional nursing staff and teams at MSTI. The family and friends concert was an opportunity to show appreciation for his journey while fundraising to benefit pancreatic cancer research at St. Luke’s Mountain States Tumor Institute. Rich is an accomplished attorney with a passion and talent for singing. When he started his chemo treatment at the “drip lounge” he discovered his friend Kevin Kirk donated some time playing the keyboards and providing a welcome distraction to the therapy and a bit of mental respite. It wasn’t long before the two formed a bond and every treatment found Rich and Kevin partnering to entertain the patients. Music has been proven to have therapeutic value and it carried over for Rich and his fellow patients. Rich is cancer free today and his remission has him beating the odds and providing hope for others.
Friends included Kevin and a talented group of professional musicians, Rich’s daughter Erin, a recording artist residing in New York, and an additional surprise with a performance from the guys from Rich’s original band, Midlife Crisis. Three oldies were a great finish to the evening and had the crowd dancing and singing along. I enjoyed the 1958 top selling single by Danny and the Juniors, At the Hop. I recommend you have Alexa play it, but the song’s lyrics can be understood —“you can rock it and you can roll it- do the stomp and even stroll it- at the hop.” Rich said this was the best day of his life-right after the day he met his lovely wife- Tonya.
The evening was a great reminder of why we should each enjoy every day. Mark Twain opined “dance like no one’s watching, love like you have never been hurt, sing like no one is listening, live like it is heaven on earth.”
Take good care. Mike