Fitzgerald’s and Local Bands Put on Concert for a Cause
by Laila Khalili
On Saturday night, Fitzgerald’s will host the third concert in the Fitz Benefit Series. The Beans, Sunrise and Ammunition, King Finn, Another Run, and several other local artists will be covering some of their favorite artists, from Radiohead and Matchbox 20 to Queen and St. Vincent.
The goal of the Fitz Benefit Series, as organizer Jagi Katial put it, “is to gather a bunch of musicians, music fans, and people who work behind the scenes in music production to raise awareness and money for important causes that impact Houstonians.”
Saturday’s concert will benefit Be the Match, a global leader in bone marrow and cord blood transplants, research, and treatment for blood diseases like leukemia and lymphoma. Be the Match also has a registry of roughly 12.5 million donors who they connect with those who desperately need treatment.
Katial explained why Be the Match was chosen as their recipient. “A few of us are tied to loved ones who have been and are in treatment for blood cancers. It’s simply a situation where anyone, no matter who they are, could potentially save a life.”
Approximately every three minutes, someone in the U.S. is diagnosed with a blood cancer. Roughly 70% of patients who need a transplant do not have a donor match within their family, which means volunteer donors are crucial to providing life-saving treatment. Be the Match encourages those who become donors to be listed in their global registry, because that just increases the likelihood of someone, somewhere, getting the vital care they need.
Houston is the fourth largest and most diverse city in the nation. By highlighting Be the Match, this concert will not only raise money to help treat blood cancers and fund research, but also find new donors and save lives.
Tickets are $10, and each one sold will be matched by local Houston businesses. Fitzgerald’s and Be the Match hope to raise $10,000 from this event which shouldn’t be difficult, considering how wildly successful past Benefit Series concerts have been. 100% of proceeds will go to Be the Match.
Full event details are below:
