In a final fundraising push for Homewood High School Band’s trip to Ireland in March, musician and storyteller Sean of the South as well as local band Three on a String will perform a benefit concert in the HHS Auditorium this Sunday, Feb.4 at 2:30 pm.
The event is a collaboration between the Homewood Arts Council and the HHS band. George Culver, co-chair of the council, was instrumental in coordinating the concert and hiring the entertainers.
Culver has known Sean Dietrich, a.k.a. Sean of the South, for a number of years. Culver has hired Dietrich for multiple events in the past, allowing him to attest to his musical talent.
“Sean is legendary now,” Culver said. “He has a following of 160,000 followers on facebook, he’s just amazingly prolific.”
Dietrich not only performs shows all across the south, including at the legendary Grand Ole Opry last year where he received a standing ovation, but he also writes a popular newspaper column that gets printed in various publications, including the Homewood Star.
“He’s an amazing southern humorist.” Culver said, “He’s got a novel, he’s in magazines, and he’s got hundreds of thousands of people who are reading these stories from him because they’re simply excellent and truly entertaining.”
Three on a String, the other group performing at the concert, have a similar vibe with their twangy southern music and humorous style. They’ve become local legends in the Birmingham area and perform at venues all over Alabama.
“Three on a String are just amazing,” Culver said. “They’re not only great musicians, but they’re really funny. It’s going to be a really fun, entertaining concert.”
The band will receive the majority of all money made from ticket sales. An estimated $20,000 to $30,000 is projected to be raised, and will help cover the cost of rental buses to the Atlanta airport, as well as adding to the trip emergency fund.
HHS band director Chris Cooper is thankful for this generous opportunity and will handle the high school’s responsibility to host the event. This includes managing ticket sales through GoFan and ensuring that the auditorium and backstage are adequately prepared.
“I wasn’t sure how the concert would go over,” Cooper said. “Then the more I started doing research on it, I realized that we are going to get close to a sellout, and the auditorium holds 1,100 people so that’s a lot of people and a lot of money.”
There are still tickets remaining on GoFan starting at only $20. This concert is the perfect way to spend a Sunday afternoon by enjoying good music and supporting the arts.
