On Saturday, the 14th of May 2016, Tat Holler and his band came to Sandy Hook, Connecticut to rock out on the stage of the Sandy Hook Village Green with a beautiful view alongside the Pootatuck River.
The event was presented by S.H.O.P. (Sandy Hook Organization for Prosperity) and sponsored by Jimmy Koplik and Live Nation, local radio station: Country 92-5, Penn Globe, Frontier Communications, Andy Sachs, and Coldwell Banker.
In bringing the event to Newtown, Live Nation's Northeast Vice-President, Jeff Wallace, has a lot to do with making an idea turn into a reality. Jeff Wallace touches upon how it took a lot of work and collaboration into making the event possible. He says, "There are a lot of moving parts, but when you divide up and folks take ownership of each piece, it runs smoothly." With the help of volunteers and the sponsors, everyone's contributions made the event possible.
Just last October, Tat Holler was in town, but the turnout this year was much larger! Jeff Wallace says they made three big changes into improving the outcome of the event being: "Moving the event from the afternoon to evening, having a strong grassroots marketing campaign, and integrating a local school into the event." The event was held at 7 PM in the evening and was heavily advertised for a lot of time. Having Tat Holler come to town was something everyone in town was looking forward to, in addition to college students preparing to come home. To get Tat Holler here, Tat Holler states, "Live Nation contacted me. I do all of their XFINITY Theater VIP shows. They reached out and said, 'You guys did a great job with the VIP shows, would you want to do this event to raise awareness for the businesses in the community of Sandy Hook?', and I said 'Yeah!'".
Tat Holler brought himself and his band members along to perform at this event. Tat Holler is the lead singer and founder of his country-rock band. He mentions, "We have three great guys in the band. I formed the band about three years ago. My guitar player, Mike, and I played out together all the time acoustically. Brennan, our bass player, he's amazing. And our drummer, Justin, is from Jersey. We came from all parts of Connecticut and New Jersey and been together for a long time."
Tat Holler touches upon his favorite part about Connecticut, as he is from here. His favorite part is the history, and says, "I'm a huge history buff. I love walking through Main Street in Middletown and knowing this is where the army of Union soldiers marched through on their way to southern parts of the states. I like the historical factor of Connecticut. I grew up in Florida, but I am from here. I was born in Middletown, CT. In Florida, you have a new neighbor there every six months and new plazas, they all look the same. There's no historical value like here." To have Tat Holler and his band in Sandy Hook was something special, especially with the fact he is from Connecticut as well.
But, Tat Holler and his band were not the only stars of the show, Live Nation reached out to Reed Intermediate School in Newtown, CT and included their school's chorus, taught by their director: Michelle Tenenbaum. The Reed School chorus performed various songs in opening up for Tat Holler such as "Something New", their rendition of High School Musical's opening song from that being their school's play for the year. The chorus was full of smiles and energy wearing colorful bandanas and light-up accessories. Building up to the event, Live Nation and Tat Holler went to Reed School to rehearse with the kids and get to know them.
The inspiration behind including the Reed School chorus came from a strong inspiration dear to Jeff Wallace's heart, his dad. Jeff Wallace says of his father: "He has been very successful working with group sales around a college athletic program in Virginia. He advised me to work with the local schools and have them involved with the event. It was a great idea. When I saw those kids dancing and laughing at the concert it made it all worthwhile to me." This memory and sense of inclusion is something that will be forever imprinted in all of these kids' hearts as well as in all of those who were involved in the event.
The kids opened up the show prior to the introductions of Tat Holler, where the band and he opened up with an AC/DC instrumental intro. The band covered various songs and closed the show performing "Don't Stop Believing" by Journey, with the Reed School chorus. No rain could stop families and friends from singing, dancing, and having a good time. Not to mention, a newly married bride and groom came all dressed up with their wedding party in the pouring rain to come see the show and dance!
Major thank you to everyone involved in such a successful event, especially event coordinators, Maribeth and Joe Hemingway, of S.H.O.P. There were so many people involved in the process, and without everyone's hands on deck, the event wouldn't be possible.
Be sure to check out more of Tat Holler at the XFINITY Theater's VIP tent:
Also, be sure to support S.H.O.P. at the Duck Race on Saturday May 28th at the Sandy Hook Village Green. If you were not able to get a shirt, you will be able to support S.H.O.P. and get one here!
Again, what a great event that took place in Sandy Hook. Jeff Wallace couldn't have said it better: "I believe that Sandy Hook is a beautiful town with resilient people. To be able to carry on and live, and celebrate, after the awful tragedy they have faced is inspiring. For me, it really has been a blessing to be able to work side by side with a group of amazing people."
