HOPEFEST NOVEMBER 22
Parents Matt and Melissa Hudson enjoyed the company of their baby Harrison for just five precious months in 2010 and 2011, but it was a period that changed their lives. The Hudsons’ second child, Harrison—named after the late Beatle—was born with an inexplicable birth defect in which he could not swallow. He was treated at three hospitals in two states, and as the Hudsons’ insurance ran out and they depleted their savings, they formed a nonprofit, Hope For Harrison, in which friends and strangers supported their cause. GET TICKETS
The Hudsons have been paying it forward ever since. Hope For Harrison has become Hope From Harrison, a nonprofit aimed at providing financial security for families of critically needy children. For years, avid music lovers Matt and Melissa have sponsored fundraising events at SunFest, among other venues, and so far they’ve pulled in around 40 grand for families of sick kids.
Now, the nonprofit is embarking on its most ambitious fundraiser yet: a one-day festival in Jupiter, titled HopeFest, slated for Nov. 22 at Abacoa Amphitheatre. The inaugural festival, which costs $25 for adults and is free for children under 12, will feature healthy food offerings, craft beers, hibiscus wine and a kids’ zone, not to mention a full day of some of South Florida’s best bands: The Resolvers, Boxelder, Ketchy Shuby, Fusik, Uproot Hootenanny, Mike Mineo and the Miami Heat Street Band.
Invisible Music | Credit Monica McGivern
Be sure to arrive early, because one of the first bands to take the stage will include a familiar face not seen on a South Florida stage in two and a half years: John Ralston and his Invisible Music. Ralston relocated back to South Florida last December after a three-year sabbatical in Southwest Virginia, an experience he describes as “a great reset button. I ended up recording a lot up there, in my little home studio. It was nice to have a blank slate and a fresh perspective on things.”
Now, Ralston and his band—including Jeff Snow, himself a father of a boy named Harrison who has benefited from the Hudsons’ charity—are ready to pick up where Invisible Music left off. The group released a terrific, lush Americana record in 2012, which sounded like a lost, early Wilco album, and Ralston has enjoyed revisiting it for HopeFest.
“We were all pleased with how quickly we were able to rehash the stuff we had done on the album,” Ralston says. The self-titled album, whose limited vinyl pressing will still be available at the show, “came across exactly the way we intended or better. We let it be a document of our friendship and everything we created together in that moment; it never gained a wider audience because we didn’t push it that much. Who knows? Hopefully we make another record, and somebody hears that one.”
MUSIC SCHEDULE
Hope Stage
12:30 – Uproot Hootenanny
1:45 – Invisible Music
2:45 – Miami Street Band
3:45 – Fusik
5:30 – Ketchy Shuby
7:00 – Boxelder
8:45 – The Resolvers
Crowd Stage
1:30 – Jordan Sky
2:30 – Jordan Sky
3:30 – Miami Street Band
5:00 – No Bodies Crew
6:30 – Mike Mineo
8:15 – Mike Mineo
HopeFest takes place Nov. 22 at Abacoa Amphitheatre, 1267 Main St., Jupiter. For tickets, visit hopefromharrison.org. Listen to and download tracks from many of these bands on this months PureHoney compilation! | RSVP | GET TICKETS
~John Thomason
We are very excited to support a great cause and hope you join us at Abacoa Amphitheater in Jupiter, FL on Saturday, November 22 for the 1st Annual Hope Fest. Hope From Harrison is a 501c3 nonprofit organization that raises money, awareness and hope for families of children with critical needs, and HopeFest is their vision that aims to bring the community together for an uplifting celebration of life that also helps support our neighbors in need. The two families that are benefitting are those of prematurely born Lincoln Gorfido (http://bit.ly/HFHLincoln) and Spinal Muscular Atrophy inflicted Kaden Myers (http://bit.ly/HFHKaden). Advance tickets are a $20 tax deductible donation with the 1st 500 receiving a free t-shirt and a chance to win an iPad Mini/other prizes (www.HopeFest2014.eventbrite.com). If you’d like to get involved, they are still looking for volunteers (http://bit.ly/HopeFest14vol). And if you can’t make it but would like to contribute to the cause, they are always accepting donations (www.gofundme.com/HopeFest).
