A year ago, nine days before he was to turn 31, Dallas musician Ace McNeely tragically passed away after falling off a cliff following a performance in Austin.
McNeely's death hit the Dallas music community hard -- so much so that House Of Blues soundman Brian Fiegelman, a close friend of McNeely's, started a charity called The Ace McNeely Foundation in memory of his fallen friend.
You might remember the launch of the charity last October, in which The Ace McNeely Foundation put on a benefit show to raise money for kids to have free music lessons -- something that was dear to McNeely, who taught music to area kids through the local music school franchise Zounds Sounds.
Now, at Dada on Saturday, on what was to be McNeely's 32nd birthday, the Foundation is back with the first annual Ace-A-Thon, its biggest concert/fundraiser yet.
The list of local musicians includes Madison King, Grant Jones and The
Doubledowns -- all of which bands McNeely played with. Also playing are Here Holy Spain,
Boys Named Sue, Here Holy Spain and others, who have banded together to play the show to
raise money for the kids and remember one of their dear friends.
In addition to the night-time performances, which will cost a mere $5 to see, there will also be som events earlier int he afternoon at Dada. The earlier, more family-friendly portion begin at 2 p.m. and features free food, free soft drinks and free music clinics for
any kid or adult who wants to deepen their knowledge of songwriting and
performance. Just as Ace would've wanted.
Here's the complete Ace-A-Thon line-up, with set times:
Inside Stage
12:10 a.m. Doubledowns
11 p.m. Here Holy Spain
10 p.m. Cavalry 414
9 p.m. Boys Named Sue
8 p.m. Little Big Horn
Outdoor Stage
12:50 a.m. Madison King
11:30 p.m. Grant Jones
10:30 p.m. Abby Normal
9:30 p.m. Here In Arms
8:30 p.m. Rodney Parker
7:30 p.m. Greg Schroeder
