Country music star Jason Michael Carol will also take the stage at the event.
The musicians are ready, the chili is being prepared and the tickets are selling. All that’s needed is you this weekend for the South Shore Music Festival, Nov. 8, at the Showman’s Club in Gibsonton.
The gates open at noon, and the music kicks off at 1 p.m.
Ticket prices start at $15 for general admission, $10 for retired military personnel, and $35 for special tickets that include an opportunity to meet with the performers. Active military personnel will be admitted free.
“It’s been a long year but I am very excited for the turnout,” said South Shore’s Mike Self of S&S Tacos/Pizza & Stuff, who is helping organize the event. Self had been planning the concert for the spring but decided to move it to November. “But I think we have now found a home and a time of the year that everyone can come out and support us,” he said. “We have already sold 300 to 400 tickets.” Organizers are hoping for as many as 700 attendees.
Funds raised by the festival will benefit area veterans, including Honor Flight of West Central Florida. Honor Flight flies local veterans to Washington, D.C., to see the monuments created in their honor. The festival officials are also planning to donate to local veterans groups.
The group had been hoping to find a local disabled veteran to donate the remainder of the funds for the event to, but were unable to find one in time. “If we can’t find a suitable one this year (they also tried to donate to the Haley House for veterans), we will find another military charity that helps disabled wounded veterans,” Self said.
Beef ‘O’ Brady’s is the title sponsor for the event.
Tampa’s own Soul Circus Cowboys will be among the headliners for the event.
The concert will feature country music star Jason Michael Carol, Gwen Sebastian, a breakout star from “The Voice,” and Tampa’s own Soul Circus Cowboys. Local talent will also take the stage. Country rockers Zebron and the duo of James and Makenzie Raye, rising stars in country music, are also slated to appear.
Along with Self, the festival is the brainchild of South Shore businessmen James Pulkowski, CPA, and Eros Dahl of Riverview Mortgage, who wanted to showcase area musical talent while also providing a concert to benefit a local cause.
A similar festival Self organized in 2010 drew 200 attendees with seven local acts.
Organizers are also asking all attendees to bring nonperishable food items to the gate. The donations will go to Feeding America Tampa Bay, a charitable food organization that supplies many local food pantries.
A chili-cookoff contest is also planned, along with a cornhole tournament where the top three winners would share $1,500. “We already have nine contestants in for the contest but we still have time for other contestants if they want to enter,” Self said.
Tickets for the event are available online at the festival website, www.southshoremusicfestival.com.
Among other local sponsors lined up for the event are Hound Dog Entertainment, Riverview Mortgage, MACE Multimedia, Sam’s Club and Buffalo Wild Wings.
To buy tickets, volunteer, become a sponsor or get more information on the event, email info@southshoremusicfestival.com, visit www.southshoremusicfestival.com or call 813-690-2201 or 813-419-7763.
Self plans to make the festival an annual event. “We have already had contacts from people who want to help next year,” he said. “There are businesses that want us to send over our sponsorship packages before we have even had this event.”
