13 May Anderson Gunning — feedback

Dan Bedell, Atlantic Canada Communications Director for the Canadian Red Cross, adds a useful postscript to my piece about the unusual pairing of bluesman Matt Anderson and folkie Dave Ginning at a Halifax Chamber of Commerce dinner on May 2.

Matt’s a big guy with a big heart. He’s from the Perth-Andover, NB, area, where he organized a benefit concert April 28 that included Bruce Guthro and Lennie Gallant among others.

Perth-Andover’s population is only about 1900, and there were close to 1200 in attendance, while others watched via live web streaming. Ticket revenue and various door prize/50-50 sales, plus cash donations at the event or direct to the Red Cross during the concert, totalled just under $48,000, which the New Brunswick government agreed to match. So in a few hours, Anderson’s initiative raised close to $100,000 to assist families and individuals most affected by flood damage to their homes.

It’s not just Matt. Surveys always put artists and musicians at or near the bottom of income surveys, but they’re the ones called upon when a worthy cause needs money. If you added up the funds these folks raise every year, the total would be in the millions — an industry in itself.