UPDATE: (9/19 @ 4:00 PM) CONCERT POSTPONED. Live Space Entrtainment reports: Due to circumstances beyond our control, the September 22 Tom Chapin and the Chapin Sisters Food Bank Benefit Concert will be rescheduled. A new date will be announced shortly. Tickets will be honored at the rescheduled show or ticketholders can obtain a refund at point of purchase. Visit www.livespaceentertainment.com for updates.
When Tom Chapin does a benefit concert in Syracuse later this week to help Food Bank of Central New York, it turns out he's carrying on a decades-long tradition for him and his family.
"It started in our family by my late older brother, the great singer-songwriter Harry Chapin. He always said the great thing about being 'quote: a star' is you have a bully pulpit. And just being a rock star can be pretty boring but maybe you can achieve some change. And he in 1975, along with Bill Ayers, founded Why Hunger, in those days it was called World Hunger Year. And that's 47 years ago and Why Hunger is still doing wonderful work."
- (NOTE: Extended Interview with Chapin & Lynn Hy of Food Bank below)
Chapin notes through decades of being on the board of Why Hunger and doing benefit concerts, he's developed the opinion that the world can feed itself 10 times over, yet still in this nation 40 million people, including 15 million children, can't feed themselves. Why Hunger works with food banks and other local organizations to support grass-roots causes that help.
The Syracuse concert will benefit Food Bank of Central New York. Chief Development Officer Lynn Hy says the organization helps people in 11 counties and she finds the problem is misunderstood.
"Everybody sees hunger, you hear so many people talking about that it's an urban problem. And what they don't realize is that hunger touches every community, whether it's rural, suburban, urban areas. There's so many people. People keep it hidden behind doors. But to know that there's thousands of people, 30% of people in our area that are going to emergency food network are children under age 18; 15% are senior citizens, 16% veterans. The face of hunger is so different that what your typical (notion) may be."
Chapin says he loves to do concerts such as this.
You're going to hear great songs, well sung, emotional, fun, energizing songs. But it's not a prosthelytizing thing; we're not going to be sitting there giving a whole lot of political stuff. But the money, the energy goes for a really good cause. So it's a double whammy. This is the kind of thing that energizes me and my daughters. And it reminds me very much of my brother Harry's career, which was ... to use the idea of a concert to really do some positive work "
The Chapin Sisters, Tom's daughers Abigail and Lily, have been a recording and performing act since 2005. They will also play at the concert. Guitarist L.J. Barrigar will perform before the concert begins.
Tom Chapin & The Chapin Sisters play Saturday, Sept 22 at 7:30 pm at The Palace Theater in Syracuse. Tickets and more informaiton at Live Space Entertainment.
