The Beatles @ Underground Garage

On Good Friday, the Underground Garage brought back The Beatles' famous rooftop concert as a fundraising event for Blues for Autism 2011. The event was also the UG's second fundraiser for BFA 2011 in the past week! The events were organized by MrDs Magic and Layla Mesmeriser, owners of the UG.

Early in the evening, co-organizer MrD began telling the gathering crowd of his love of the Beatles music. He told us that the original rooftop concert was an unannounced event that took place on the roof of Apple studio. He also told us the concert lasted only 45 minutes, but through the magic of Second Life this concert would last much longer.

The Beatles tribute band's stage was an exact replica of the rooftop of the Apple Building in London. The band was comprised of the four Beatles and Billy Preston on keys, and included Gabrielle Vespucciano as John, Nimue "Nim" Silvercloud as Paul, Chelsie Levenque as George, Gris "Cowboy" Sharktooth as Ringo and Zara Mistwalker as Billy. The band had amazing Beatles replica avatars and presented a great show.

The concert didn't start until 7:00pm but people had began arriving even before 5:00pm. There was a great crowd that once the concert started, stayed near the 60 level until late.

The crowd continued to pour in until the sim maxed out. As they poured in they began donating to Blues for Autism even before the show began.

When the crowd couldn't wait a moment longer, the lights went on and the show began to a volley of cheers, yays, woohoos and wows.

Despite the fact that this was the last time the guys would perform publicly, it felt like they were all here with us playing the music that changed music for generations.

The Beattles played on the rooftop as evening turned into night.

It seemed that everyone who attended this Beatles tribute concert had some type of personal connection with many, many of the songs that were played. And as more and more autism awareness fundraisers are held, we also learn that everyone knows someone who has been impacted by the condition known as autism. There is much to learn about autism and through events like this concert we not only raise money to support autism awareness, but also use the time to provide autism facts.

At final tally, the Underground Garage gang raised another $L43,020!

When the Beatles Concert donations are added to donations raised this past Sunday, the folks at the Underground Garage have contributed over L$160,000. Thank yous to those who donated. Thanks yous to Layla & MrD. And thank yous to the members of The Beatles tribute band.

by Yordie Sands

ZZ Top @ BFA Beach Party

Lightening Productions has done a wonderful job in their tributes to many of the classic rock and blues bands, they've also been a great friend to the Blues for Autism initiative. And last night, the Lightening crew presented an amazing ZZ Top concert for the BFA 2011 Beach Party fundraiser. Magi McBride hosted the event at her Natchez Trace sim which had been transformed into a beach with palms, beach chairs, beach bar, bonfire and the beautiful ZZ Top set; there was even a red hot rod parked nearby.

In addition, DJ Jacan Slade took over after the concert and delivered his own amazing set of rockin' blues. And also, this was the kickoff of the Beach Babe Contest which runs for a week, sponsored by Kizmet Kidd's TenderLove HUD product.

The ZZ Top crew included Coz OKelly as Dusty Hill, Plato Ninetails as Billy Gibbons and Thor Effingham as Frank Beard. There was a hot pack of dancers with Kenzia Mager, Rhonda Thibedeau and Cherrylicious Doobie.

The show opened with Dusty (Cuz) and Billy (Plato) raging on their fuzzy guitars while Frank (Thor-Oh-Good) was wailing on his drums.

As the show got rolling, Thor pulled the mufflers off his drums and the dudes put the music on turbocharge.

The music was totally ZZ Top with everything from"Blue Jean Blues" to "Tush". And there was a great crowd of beach goers, averaging 40 much of the night.

Here's BFA Founder Magi McBride, next to the Blues for Autism 2011 kiosk, in a hot itsy-bitsy leopard skin bikini.

After the flaming ZZ Top Concert, Crossroads regular DJ Jacan Slade took over the stream and began spinning a fantastic set which included more rock and blues. Jacan started his set with AC/DC's "Thunderstruck" and included others from Santana to War.

Last night was also the kickoff of the BFA Beach Babe Contest and 20 babes (including dudes!!) signed up. The prize for winning is a TenderLove 4.0 HUD. To vote join or vote for your favorite babe, click this Natchez Trace link for SLURL.

It was a wonderful evening for the Blues for Autism 2011 fundraiser. The Concert & Beach Party brought in L$26,561, and the Beach Babe Contest brought in an additional L$15,969.

The evenings donations of L$42,530 drove the BFA total to L$311,806.

Thank you to the performers, and thank you to all the guests who contributed and/or joined the Beach Babe Contest. Always, thank you to the BFA Organizing Committee, with special thanks to Takamatsu Soke who co-hosted the evening's event with yours truly.

And a reminder: all Lindens donated will be converted to US Dollars at the end of the fundraiser and contributed to Autism Society.org.

by Yordie Sands

Tribute To Stevie Ray Vaughan Event

Lightning Production and Blues for Autism teamed up for a tribute to Stevie Ray Vaughan event. If you have never seen a Lightning Production, you don't know what you are missing. They do everything big......big stage, big light show, big sounds, big crowds and tons of fun. Tonight was no different.



Stevie Ray Vaughan kicked off the show with the songs "Scuddle Buttin" "Dirty Pool" and "Love Struck Baby". His astonishing guitar playing ignited the blues crowd with his uniquely electric and fiery style. Within the first 30 minutes, Magi McBride announced 20,000 lindens had already been donated.




Brett Stand, president of ASA stopped by to catch some of the event such as "Pride and Joy" as it blasted over the mega speakers. He witnessed the BFA kiosk totals climb reflecting the support and generosity of this enthusiastic crowd.






With the explosion in autism cases in the last year comes many more challenges with friends in our community. These families need our support and help more than ever.







Everyone was on their feet feeling amazed....not only from the awesome music being played but from the closeness we share for being a part of this great cause. We are making a difference!





As the sun set over the event site, the final song "Couldn't Stand the Weather" was played. Magi McBride proudly announced our total for the evening was 53,100 lindens bringing our BFA 2010 grand total to 848,442 lindens. There isn't any other way to describe it.....AMAZING!!!



A special thanks to Lightning Production and crew for their time, talent, and support!!!

by Leanna Chaffe

Blues Brothers Set The Night On Fire!

You've seen the movie. You know them by name, Jake and Elwood, and the Blues Brother Band. WOW! Last night the SL Blues Brothers performed a benefit concert for the Blues for Autism fundraiser, and it was spectacular to say the least! It started in a ball of flame with band at full tilt.

"The Blues Brothers, Ladies and Gentlemen!"











It was Liams Sands on Sax, Bluto Brando on guitar, Coz Okelly on trumpet, Thor Effingham on keyboard, MrDs Magic on bass, Quinten Lovenkraft on drums, GeorgeWiser Risent as Elwood and Tight Whiteberry as Jake! And Crystalrose Lightworker as Aretha Franklin. Whooo Hooo!!

Gas masks were available as Jake blew a big one! Yeah, he was bare butt naked. Oh the humanity!

As the gas cleared, the boys ran around in their, well, briefs. hehe.

The crowd was loving it all... well, except the smell maybe.

The wonderful Aretha Franklin joined the boys, sang and drove donations higher.

The show ended the way it began, on fire! And the cops couldn't stop'em.









It was a wild show with great tunes. At the end of the concert, Magi McBride announced that the show had raised L$22,585 and "OUR GRAND TOTAL GOING INTO SATURDAY IS: L$ 1,075,289." WOW... and it ain't over yet. Magi's goal looks more and more like a real possibility.

Thank you to all of the members of the band and all of the guests who gave so generously!

The Rat Pack for Autism

On Saturday night, the Rat Pack held an event to benefit the Blues for Autism 2009 fundraiser. The show started with Marilyn Monroe (Montana Ballard) singing her famous version of Happy Birthday to President John F. Kennedy (Wickman Gibbs), and it was a great opening for this unique group. The show included songs by Dean Martin (Britt McMahon), Sammy Davis Jr. (AnthonyWilliams Copperfield) and, of course, Frank Sinatra (Wickman Gibbs).

The show was a combination of music and antics by the Rat Pack, band members and showgirls including Joey Bishop (Josh Tremor) on piano, Buddy Rich (Nukeum Destiny) on drums, showgirl Christine Ballyhoo, sax player Walden Mannonen and trumpeter Simon Seurat.

This was a "Little Black Dress and Skinny Tie Affair" and there was a good crowd decked out accordingly and looking snazzy. Attendance ran at an average of over thirty people throughout the event. The Rat Pack show brought in L$10,650 into the fundraiser.

That's Marilyn Monroe sitting atop Joey Bishop's piano.

Dean Martin sings.

That's Sinatra, Davis and Martin standing around the bar, making jokes, drinking and drinking more.

Sinatra, Davis and Martin sang and horsed around.










It was a generous crowd that helped drive the total over L$800,000. Heart felt thank you to each member of the Rat Pack for the support for Blues for Autism 2009.