Safety Net of Missouri will be there for families of fallen area first responders, and the So Long Music Festival fundraiser will help the nonprofit organization do so.
All the proceeds from the two-night concert will benefit Safety Net, which provides support and financial assistance to the spouses and children of all local law enforcement officers, firefighters, EMS and correction officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty.
The festival will kick off Thursday night at the Jefferson City Jaycees Cole County Fairgrounds with the Jefferson City Firefighters Local 761 25th annual charity barbecue, serving chicken or pork steak dinners from 4-7 p.m. Tickets are available at the door for $10 for adults or $6 for children ages 6-12, and children under 5 can eat a free hot dog dinner. A fire truck bounce house will be there for the kids.
Opening music acts will begin at 7:30 p.m. Friday with BOSTYX, featuring David Victor, former singer and guitarist for Boston, as the headlining act. Tickets for the Friday show are $15 each, or save $3 if you buy two more.
Headlining band Montgomery Gentry will play Saturday with special guest Rodney Atkins.
Montgomery Gentry has earned CMA, ACM and Grammy awards and nominations with their popular hits "My Town" and "Hillbilly Shoes." They've also had five No. 1 singles with "If You Ever Stop Loving Me," "Something to Be Proud Of," "Lucky Man," "Back When I Knew It All" and "Roll with Me," according to the news release from Safety Net.
Atkins has sold millions of records with No. 1 hits like "Watching You" and "Take a Back Road," according to the news release.
"We just try to choose artists that we think a large demographic of people will like and be interested in," said Cindy Platter, of Safety Net of Missouri. "Last year we went a bit older; this year we went a little more current. And we try to bring entertainers that haven't played here close by recently."
The acts start at 7:30 p.m. and the gates will open at 5 p.m. Saturday. Tickets start at $40. Tickets will be available at the gate until sold out.
Food vendors and adult beverages will be available on site Friday and Saturday.
Platter said they're aiming to raise $130,000 this year from the event, and they've raised approximately $100,000 since its inception.
"We've seen, in the past several months, everything in the news about law enforcement line-of-duty deaths in Dallas, Baton Rouge - all over the nation," Platter said. "It's a very critical, dangerous time out there. These are real families that have lost an important family member. All of our local firefighters, law enforcement, EMS and correction officers put their lives on the line every single day to protect their communities - all they want is to do their jobs well, and to go home to their families at the end of their shift. Jefferson City and Cole County won't be exempt from these tragedies. All we can do is be prepared to help take care of their families should something happen."
Ticket information can be found online at SoLongSummerMusicFest.com.