Pulling For The Pantry 2022 was a BLAST!!!
Thursday night’s concert was sold out and a tremendous success with Emcee Chris Hale delivering eloquent testimony to the importance of addressing food insecurity in our country. Chris who manages The Miller Pub in downtown Great Barrington spoke to The Berkshire Edge’s Shaw Israel Ikison about it…
“I think it’s a responsibility of the people in the hospitality industry who make our living on tourism and locals that we make sure we are feeding people in our community. Food insecurity work has been a long-time passion of mine. To me, a full belly is a human right. We need to extend help to everyone in the community who needs it.”
Rees Shad & The Conversations opened the night with a powerful blend of familiar and original music and the band was joined at the end of their set by local legend Wanda Houston. T-Bone Daddy’s amazing Tyler Fairbank took the stage and joined the Conversations’ Jeff Link and Bobby Kay for a brief but smoking set of songs before Gina Coleman and Misty Blues took the stage. Misty Blues were finalists in the 2019 International Blues Challenge, and their unique mix of original and traditional blues with hints of jazz, soul, funk and tent revival gospel had the audience on their feet and dancing. The night was capped off by an incredible performance by the BTU’s who tore the place apart with fiery guitar playing over a disciplined groove that kept the early birds out way past bedtime and had the house full until the very end.
The People’s Pantry of Great Barrington would like to thanksall the musicians who donated their time and artistry to the benefit. As organizer, pantry board member, and … pssst participating musician told the Edge...
“I love all of the musicians who donated their time tonight. A lot of times we don’t value art, artists, or the work that they do. I am immensely thankful that they all agreed to take part in this.”
Particular thanks goes out to Jeff Link who tapped into his network of musicians and friends to help Rees gather all the artists together for the show. Without Jeff, this event never would have happened!
Please check out all of our sponsors and give them your business. They contributed so very much to this effort, tell them you heard about them here so they can know the impact of their contributions.
Last but not least, the People's Pantry Help-Fill-The-Bag Campaign continues. Donate what you can - time, shelf stable food, cash, or securities - the them. Their mission is incredibly important to the community!