Music and canned goods aren't typically paired together, however at the upcoming Jon McLaughlin concert sponsored by Program Board, fans will have the opportunity to hear their nationally renowned artist play at Shriver Center and also contribute to a good cause.
McLaughlin will be performing at 7 p.m. Dec. 4 in Miami University's Multipurpose Room of the Shriver Center, while Hey Hostage, the band formerly known as Marking Twain, will be the opening act.
Following shows in Boca Raton, Lake Buena Vista and Clearwater, Fla., McLaughlin will pass through Ohio, playing at Miami University and Northwest State Community College in Archbold, Ohio, according to the tour schedule on his Web site.
McLaughlin's recently released album-titled Indiana after his home state-debuted at No. 81 on Billboard's Top 200, according to a press release for the event.
His performance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno sparked Program Board's interest in bringing him to campus, said Taylor Wessels, vice president of communication for the organization.
"Members of the (Program Board) committee knew his work from The Tonight Show, among others, and recognized him as a dreamy guy that would be fun to bring to campus," he said.
The artist cites musical influences such as Ben Folds, Billy Joel, Elton John and Harry Connick, Jr. on his MySpace.com music page.
Program Board expects to fill Shriver's Multipurpose Room, which can hold up to 500 people, and while admission is free, members are asking for donations of nonperishable canned goods or hygiene items that can be donated to the Oxford Family Resource Center.
Program Board has sponsored programs where the proceeds have benefited charities or nonprofit organizations before, but this is the first event in which the Oxford Family Resource Center has been involved, according to Wessels.
Diane Ruther-Vierling, executive director for the Oxford Family Resource Center, explained how the contributions from the concert's attendees will benefit local families.
"We do holiday food baskets and are distributing 300 baskets to families in December," Ruther-Vierling said.
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The Oxford Family Resource Center helps families in the Talawanda School District acquire basic living essentials such as food, clothing, personal hygiene items and medical prescriptions. Ruther-Vierling said they function with funding from nonprofit organizations and are collecting cans from multiple events for the holiday season.
"It's the holiday season and while it's fun to listen to a concert, we should remember the people that don't have opportunities that we do," Wessels said. "It's an easy was for everyone to be involved and to integrate service and entertainment."
In order to publicize his Miami concert, Bagel and Deli is offering a special Jon McLaughlin bagel with turkey, hummus, tomatoes, lettuce and Baked Lays on a wheat bagel, according to Wessels.
"It's made from ingredients he likes and if it's popular, they'll keep it around," Wessels said.
Their ideas for ingredients came from items in McLaughlin's contract that he requested to be in his dressing room before the show, Wessels said.
This is the first time Program Board has used Bagel and Deli to advertise an upcoming event, but Wessels says he is pleased with the buzz it has created.
McLaughlin graduated from Anderson University School of Music and his first, self-titled album was released in 2004 on the university record label, Orangehaus, according to the biography on his official Island Records Web site.
His touring experiences include travel with O.A.R., Live, Sister Hazel and Marc Broussard. His musical stylings even earned him a spot at the 2006 Lollapalooza music festival in Chicago, according to the Web site.
According to recent news from Island Records, the track "So Close" from McLaughlin's Indiana album is being featured in the Disney movie Enchanted.
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