In celebration of Father’s Day and what would have been the final date of The Legendary Downchild Blues Band’s 50th Anniversary Tour, the band are streaming their Live At Massey Hall concert for fans on Sunday, June 21 at 7 p.m. EST — all in support of a very important cause, the Unison Benevolent Fund.
Downchild were joined on stage by some very special guests for their historic Live At Massey Hall performance, including Hollywood star and Blues Brothers co-founder Dan Aykroyd, Canadian blues-rock icon Colin James, American blues legend James Cotton, Grammy Award winner and Rodeo King Colin Linden, Montreal rocker Jonas and the one and only Wayne Jackson of The Memphis Horns.
Live At Massey Hall will be available for an exclusive one-night-only viewing on their official Youtube Channel. Donations to Unison in conjunction with the Downchild concert can be made by texting UNISON to 45678 or clicking HERE. All donations made to Unison will be matched by Spotify as part of the COVID-19 Music Relief project that has been created to amplify the efforts of organizations that focus on helping those most in need, like the Unison Benevolent Fund. Spotify will match donations made to Unison dollar for dollar up to a collective total of $10 million USD.
The Unison Benevolent Fund is a non-profit, registered charity that provides counselling and emergency relief services to the Canadian music community. They are there to help professional music-makers in times of hardship, illness or economic difficulties. For further information on Unison and they great work they do, please click HERE.
“We are honoured to be able to support a great cause like Unison, that truly takes care of our own, in supporting Canadian artists and Canadian music industry professionals in this difficult time,” said Donnie “Mr. Downchild” Walsh. Like so many people across the country and around the world, the music community has been hit hard by the pandemic.”
Downchild came to international prominence as the inspiration for Aykroyd and the late John Belushi’s band and hit film The Blues Brothers. In fact, two Downchild songs — Shotgun Blues and (I Got Everything I Need) Almost — were covered on The Blues Brothers’ 1978 multi-platinum album Briefcase Full of Blues. “There would be no Blues Brothers if it weren’t for Downchild,” Aykroyd has said.
Watch highlights from the show above and below, and keep up with the band via their website, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
