The Rock for Ronnie benefit concert will be held May 19th in Woodland Hills, CA
Wendy Dio has announced details for the annual Rock for Ronnie, benefiting the Ronnie James Dio Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund. The event will move to the Lou Bredlow Pavilion at Warner Center Park in Woodland Hills, CA on Sunday, May 19th from 11 am until 6 pm. The cancer charity is designating this year’s event as a Year of the Dragon Celebration, a symbol closely associated with the late singer who succumbed to gastric cancer in 2010.
Radio and television personality Eddie Trunk, who is heard on SiriusXM’s 103 Faction Talk channel, will once again host. Headlining the Rock for Ronnie event will be heavy metal veterans Quiet Riot. Also on the bill will be rocker Lita Ford, Dio Disciples, southern rock band Jason Charles Miller, and a surprise-filled jam by Eddie Trunk’s All-Star Band, which in the past has included noted musicians such as Doug Aldrich, Steven Adler, Chris Broderick, Phil Demmel, Dave Grohl, Adrian Vandenberg, Ricky Warwick, Jesse Hughes, and Brian Tichy, among many others.
Although the concert will be open to the public, a limited number of VIP seats in front of the stage are on sale now for $60 each online and will only be available in advance. The advance VIP tickets will also include access to the VIP bar for attendees over 21. To make full use of the abundant space afforded by this new location, the family-oriented event will be open to all, with on-site donations to the 501c3 charity welcomed.
“This is the ‘Year of the Dragon,’ which only comes around every 12 years, and anyone who knew Ronnie knows how much he loved dragons,” explains Dio Cancer Fund founder Wendy Dio. “Because of our wonderful sponsors and supporters, we are able to open up this year’s event at this wonderful, new event location to everyone who wants to attend, while also offering a limited number of VIP seats for purchase in advance. It is our hope that this ‘Year of the Dragon’ special event will be supported by donations that will further our charity’s initiatives in cancer education and research for a cure for this terrible disease that has taken so many of our loved ones.”
There will be ample opportunities to support to the Dio Cancer Fund at the Rock for Ronnie via a silent auction and raffle, beverage, food and merchandise sales, artist meet and greets, a specially-created Garden of Hope and, of course, direct contributions on site. There will also be food trucks and assorted vendor booths selling unusual crafts and other items to round out an afternoon of live music and fun for the entire family and open to everyone.
Legendary rock singer Ronnie James Dio, who lost his life to gastric cancer in 2010, is the subject of the acclaimed documentary film Dio: Dreams Never Die, which is streaming on Showtime and on the Showtime app.
The Ronnie James Dio Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund was founded for the late singer. A privately funded 501(c)(3) public charity, the Ronnie James Dio Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund has already raised over $2 million since its inception. Monies raised have been committed to the cancer research work of the T. J. Martell Foundation for Cancer, AIDS and Leukemia Research, the MD gastric cancer research unit. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, where Ronnie was treated for gastric cancer during the last six months of his life, and other cancer research projects. Since 2016, the Dio Cancer Fund has committed funds to support the research of Dr. David Wong and his team at the UCLA School of Dentistry in developing a simple, non-invasive saliva test for the early detection of cancer.
One hundred percent of the net proceeds from the Rock for Ronnie will go to the Dio Cancer Fund, which is now in its 14th year of raising awareness and much-needed funding for cancer prevention, education, and research for a cure. The organization also hosts the annual Bowl for Ronnie Celebrity Bowling Party, which will be held on November 14th.
