By Crystal Harrell
After featuring multiple warm-up events, the 2023 16th Annual Concert for Autism Main Event is here. The benefit concert is taking place Saturday, October 21st at The Tack Room Tavern in Indio, CA, starting at 3pm in the afternoon and going until midnight.
The Annual Concert for Autism is produced by a group of musicians who have personal connections to autism as fathers, mothers, family members and friends. Autism is a complex developmental disability that typically appears during the first three years of life and affects a person’s ability to learn, communicate, and interact with others. The proceeds from the annual concert are donated to the Desert Autism Foundation—a local Coachella Valley organization that provides financial assistance to families with autistic children so they may afford vital therapies, programs, and activities.
“This year’s Concert for Autism will be in the same format as in previous years—as far as having two stages with the big main stage for bands and then a small stage for acoustic acts. And we’ll continue to go back and forth, which is great because that way, there’s not too much down time. It’s always exciting and having the acoustic stage is great. The Valley has so many great singer-songwriter, acoustic players and it’s great to showcase them,” stated co-organizer of the Annual Concert for Autism and Desert Autism Foundation board member, Josh Heinz.
Heinz and his wife Linda have sons on the autism spectrum. Heinz is a musician who started the Concert for Autism in 2008, intersecting his love for music with his desire to help those affected with autism. The event has been held every year since—even in a virtual format in 2020 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Back when we started the benefit, I just had my oldest son at that time, Harrison. Back then, I was in a band called Dufreign, which we are reuniting and playing the main event this year.
This will be the first time all the original members are together in 18 years. We had played a cancer benefit and we had seen other little benefits happening back then. Since I had a son on the autism spectrum, I thought, let’s bring some attention to it. We’ll get a couple of bands to play and we’ll just take all the money that we raised from the door and what we get paid from the bar and we’ll pass around the bucket and we’ll give it to an organization that helps out individuals on the autism spectrum. And that’s how it started,” explained Heinz.
This year’s lineup includes Fever Dog, Fatso Jetson, The Hellions, Dufreign, Empty Seat, the ill eagles, The Jason Zembo Band, AMP (Academy of Musical Performance), Michael Keeth, Jetta King, Rick Shelley, Courtney Chambers, Matt Davin, Lance Riebsomer, David Saba, and Jordan Austin.
The fundraising efforts at the Concert for Autism main event features silent auctions and raffles from businesses across the valley. If you are interested in donating items or services for use as a raffle or silent auction item, please contact the Concert for Autism by email at contact@concertforautism.com or by calling (760) 702-4110. The main event will also feature activities for kids like face painting, games, and a sensory tent. The tent is provided by Beth Aune of Desert Occupational Therapy. If an individual on the spectrum needs a little break from the noise or from the crowd at the concert, they can go into the tent for a more quiet and calm environment.
“We very much appreciate all our event sponsors, especially the support of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians. They do such great things for the community, for so many different charities, and we are grateful that they support our event and the Autism Foundation. I also want to highlight our two big headliners, Fever Dog and Fatso Jetson. Fever Dog played last year and they were awesome. In the weeks and months after the show many people would say to me, ‘Hey, you should bring them back.’ I’m very happy they wanted to come back and play. Recently they’ve been tearing it up out on tour with Wolfmother. And then Fatso Jetson, of course, is one of the desert’s legendary bands. They’ve been around for a long time. Mario Lalli, who is the main force in that band, he’s known as the godfather of desert rock. And I’m so grateful they get to play this year,” shared Heinz.
To help the Concert for Autism raise funds for the Desert Autism Foundation as it continues its mission to assist individuals with autism and their families, donate anytime by www.concertforautism.com or contact Josh Heinz at contact@concertforautism.com or (760) 702-4110 to talk about event sponsorships.
Concert for Autism Main Event Schedule
Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians Main
Stage:
4:00 – Academy of Musical Performance
5:00 – The Jason Zembo Band
6:00 – the ill eagles
7:00 – Empty Seat
8:00 – Dufreign
9:05 – The Hellions
10:10 – Fatso Jetson
11:15 – Fever Dog
Acoustic Stage:
3:30 – Jordan Austin
4:35 – Davis Saba
5:35 – Lance Riebsomer
6:35 – Rick Shelley
7:35 – Courtney Chambers
8:40 – Matt Davin
9:45 – Jett King
10:50 – Michael Keeth
