Published: July 05, 2008 09:14 pm         

Fundraising concert helps Wabash Valley Red Cross

TERRE HAUTE — The thousands of Wabash Valley residents victimized by recent flooding would have appreciated the blues played in their honor Saturday afternoon at the Plumbers and Steamfitters on Milner Avenue.

About 4:30 p.m. Loren “Lo” Woods, Bobby Clark, Cole Higgins and Larry “Bongo” Brannon let the riffs fly impromptu as they belted out one big, long jam session as part of the all-day fundraising concert to benefit the American Red Cross of the Wabash Valley.

Higgins, 19, organized the event with the help of family and friends, bringing about a dozen bands from across the state to perform.

“So far, so good,” Higgins said after playing with the considerably older Woods and Clark for the first time.

Woods, whom Higgins called “one of the best guitarists in Indiana,” came without a bass player, a problem he quickly remedied.

And Clark, a cousin of music legend John Mellencamp, teamed up on vocals, noting of Woods after one song “if I could play a guitar like that I’d never sing a lyric again.”

And while the outdoor concert didn’t attract thousands, those who participated seemed to have a good time.

“I think it’s great when anybody wants to step up and help the flood victims,” Terre Haute Mayor Duke Bennett said during one of the set changes.

About 150 people attended between noon and 5 p.m., with the music planned to go on until 10 p.m. Saturday night.

Bill “Corky” Higgins, Cole’s father, expressed a great deal of pride in his son’s project.

“This was something he just woke up one day and wanted to do,” he said, adding that the whole family and their friends joined into the organization of the event.

Baskin-Robbins Ice Cream provided one of several food vendor booths, serving waffle cones, ice cream and cotton candy as part of the fundraiser.

“I have quite a few family members here in Terre Haute,” Muncie native Ann Newport said.

Newport and Lynnette Wyatt both work for the Baskin-Robbins store in Muncie and offered to come down and help with this weekend’s event.

“It’s for a good cause,” Wyatt said.

Baskin-Robbins’ manager Karen Rogers said the store was helping to sponsor the fundraiser and noted that one of their employees’ homes had been impacted by the June 7 floods.

And musicians from a number of bands mingled in the shade of the park’s pavilion, with toddlers running loose wearing shirts that read “My dad’s band is better than your dad’s” and “My dad rocks.”

Woods himself slid his hands up and down a guitar throughout his performances, picking it apart as it seemed to voice its own lyrics, and Higgins hanging with him on bass.

Donations for the Wabash Valley Red Cross are still being accepted, and more information is available by calling 1-800-HELPNOW.

Brian Boyce can be reached at (812) 231-4253 or brian.boyce@tribstar.com.