Submitted by Keeton of The 71’s.
View event poster here.

Saturday November 21st – The 71’s are hosting and headlining a benefit concert that they put together in an attempt to help the hungry during Thanksgiving. They are calling the event “Bands, Fans & Cans” and are asking fans and friends to bring out canned goods to the show that evening. At the show they can trade 5 canned goods for a free cd at any of the bands merchandise tables. The cans will go to The Houston Food bank to be distributed to less fortunate families during Thanksgiving.

The show will take place on November 21st at the famous Fitzgerald’s in The Heights and will feature the music of The 71’s and 4 other Houston bands, including The Canvas Waiting, Amber Skyline, Wonderful Future, and Air Review.

Just a bit about The 71’s— they released their first record last year around this time and since then have had their music featured on
– The Real World: Cancun on MTV
– The Real World: Brooklyn on MTV
– The Duel on MTV
– The Stylist on MTV
– The Khardashians: Khloe and Kourt Go To Miami (E! Channel)
– The Bad Girls Club

They have also become a favorite band to see by DJ’s here in town. It’s not uncommon to see AD from 94.5FM or Liz Jordan from 89.3FM at one of their shows.

Music to this band is more than entertainment, it’s a means of influencing their community. Here’s a word from the band about the reason behind the show: “It’s about finding purpose. We know that there are hungry and hurting people in our community and we want to keep our eyes open to ways that we can help them – if The 71’s music is the best tool we have to do that, than we want to use it. Lately, we have had the privilege of meeting some very interesting bands throughout Texas, and especially Houston – talented, serious about making good music, and also determined to influence and help people. When we put this show together, I just called the bands who I was a fan of – after it was put together, the idea of using the show as a means to feed people came second. When I pitched it to the rest of the bands, they loved the idea. Before I knew it, I had a benefit concert without even meaning to. I love the idea of turning music into something substantial… like canned goods to feed people – so as this event began to take shape, I became more and more excited. With the date being the Saturday before Thanksgiving, it seemed to me like the question was “Why NOT use it as a means of helping hungry Houstonians?” There are so many people in Houston who are working to meet the needs of less fortunate people (like The Houston Food Bank) I feel like in a very small way, we are just joining what they are already doing.

“My greatest hope for this event is that people will come to the show and see that helping people is not as difficult as it may seem. Small efforts can combine into wonderful acts of mercy and generosity. Many times the only things missing are motivation and organization. We hope with this concert, people will find great motivation through our music and the music of the other four bands.

“Helping people, I am learning, does not always require you to travel to great lengths or even travel great distances. In this case, all you have to do is go into your pantry, get 5 canned goods, come to Fitzgerald’s to see The 71’s, drop your cans off and leave with a free CD… what could be easier?” – Keeton, front man for The 71’s.

Exerpt adopted from HCN Online.

Click here to learn more about the 71’s.