farragutpress

Concerts for charity

Charloff & Purple Xperience Oct. 18; Here Come the Mummies Nov. 1

October 16, 2024 by Alan Sloan

The Concerts For Our Own series for charity is alive and well in the Farragut/Knoxville area in the next few weeks.

Three charities are the focus of promoter/founder/CEO Aaron Snukals’ local concerts tours, which first features Marshall Charloff & Purple XPERIENCE, with Mike Snodgrass opening for this band at 7:30 p.m., Friday, Oct. 18. Two weeks later, Friday, Nov. 1, brings Here Come the Mummies — both concerts in Tennessee Amphitheater at Worlds Fair Park, downtown Knoxville.

Charities receiving the proceeds are Knoxville Pediatric Cancer Collaborative, Joy of Music School and The Love Kitchen.

What awaits music fans Oct. 18 “is a tribute to Prince,” the promoter said. “... We try to bring in shows that will bring in an audience that can afford to donate money to these local charities.”

As for Nov. 1, “It’s a funk band out of Nashville,” Snukals said of Here Come the Mummies, promoting “their brand of terrifying funk from beyond the grave since 2000,” a band ad stated.

“They’ll draw 800 to a thousand people,” Snukals added. “They’ve been here probably four or five times; they’re studio musicians out of Nashville. They all dress up like mummies. … They’re an unbelievable show band.”

Tickets for both concerts, which start at $35 and go up to $75, can be purchased at concertsforourown.org or at the gate (if not sold out).

However, for a VIP experience, “Whether you’re a $35 ticket or a $75 ticket, you can upgrade another $45, and that gets you a VIP area dinner, early entry, a private restroom, a semi-private bar, complimentary water and a place to hang out and watch the show,” Snukals said.

More about charity

With an annual goal of “at least $10,000 for each charity, I do three charities a year. Last year, it was two different charities (and Love Kitchen), and we gave each one of them $10,000,” the promoter said about Breast Connect and Special Spaces. “And this year, I picked (two) new charities, and each one of them will get at least $10,000.”

Love Kitchen is a repeat beneficiary.

“They do such wonderful work, all their boots are on the ground, the majority of their folks are all volunteers and they feed people,” said Snukals, looking to raise enough from these final two shows of 2024 to total $30,000. “I produce all these shows. … And if they all make money, which I hope they do, I divide up all the profits (equally) to the nonprofits that I work with.”

“My whole goal right now is just do these events to raise money for these local nonprofits that really need help.”

Always bringing in various musical genres among his four annual charity shows, “The first guy I had brought in (during 2024) was named Steve Augeri, and he was the lead singer for Journey for 10 years,” Snukals said. “And then we brought in a reggae show, a tribute to Bob Marley.”

Personal note, amphitheater

On a personal note, “I tried to retire, but I sucked at it — I didn’t do very good at retiring,” said the promoter, who worked in the same capacity at a local radio station “for 10 years; I booked all the bands at Smoking Mountain Harley-Davidson for six years.

“I’m 70, and I think once you start getting (that) age, you realize why you were put on this Earth — and you are really put on this Earth to help other people,” Snukals added. “And that’s really what I’m able to do right now; I’m able to provide for these charities that need help. I’m blessed that I’m able to do it.”

Soon after 9/11, “I was able to go to New York to see the concert for New York, and I saw how they raised money there by bringing in concerts and guest artists,” he said. “… Well, I’m thinking, ‘why can’t we raise money for local charities here in Knoxville the same way?’”

“When you go to see that right after 9/11, and you saw all the police officers and the firemen, and you saw all the people there raising money for New York, I thought, ‘Well, one day, eventually, I’ll be able to do that for Knoxville.’”

A little more than 20 years later, “I was able to put this Concerts For Our Own together,” Snukals said. “I’ve got some great sponsors who’ve helped me out, and because of the sponsors the ticket money gets to go to the charity. So it It’s a lot to put on.

“The Tennessee Amphitheater is a great place to see shows,” he added about the former World’s Fair site. “... We’re trying to bring it back.”