All Things Must Pass benefit concert Raleigh NC 2.26.11

What a fabulous Spring-like Friday evening in Raleigh, North Carolina as something like 45 local musicians gathered their talents together last night for a cancer benefit concert celebrating George’s Harrison’s All Things Must Pass in aid of local area cancer patients who have bills to pay.

The music fest, held at a Carrboro club called the Cat’s Cradle (which reminded me muchly of The 40 Watt club in Athens GA) was performed in association with The Caring Community Foundation, an area non-profit charitable organization which provides financial assistance to cancer patients in and around the Triangle area of North Carolina.

Basic needs such as rent, utilities, food, prescription meds, nutritional supplements, and other expenses are supported by this excellent charity organization. And with cancer sufferer George Harrison’s tunes as the fare, the blend made for a touching and magical evening full of familiar melodies for this former Beatle fan (who saw them in Atlanta 1965 with a Mystic Rectangle planetary pattern above our heads!)

Organizers Toby Roan and Jeff Hart did a fantastic job herding (by which I mean, managing) a group of musical cats onstage with cello, horns, upright bass, drums and more along with the usual complement of guitars and tambourines. So the Cat’s Cradle was quite an appropriate venue!

There are few people whose lives haven’t been affected by cancer whether it’s self, family members, or friends and my family and I felt honored to be part of such a wonderful musical project in aid of those with significant financial burdens during a stressful time of life. CCF also runs Caring Community Kids to comfort little ones affected by the disease, and a Pay-It-Forward philosophy drives their mission.

The Caring Community Foundation (CCF) was begun ten years ago by local cancer survivor Jill Wolford and has raised over $1 million and served over 1,000 patients so that they can focus on their treatment and recovery. Click for more info on the organization (donations and volunteers are always welcome!); plus, you may also wish to visit If Not For You.org.

By attending last evening’s benefit concert, I discovered that I had forgotten George Harrison’s last words, by which the world would be a much happier, less crisis-ridden place if only everyone remembered them regularly. Perhaps you already know them:

“Love one another.”

To which this blogger adds a heartfelt, Amen!