One in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer during her lifetime. A group of musicians, venues, artists, and influencers are joining forces with the American Cancer Society to show their support to those facing a breast cancer diagnosis by serving as ambassadors for this year’s Rock The Pink campaign, happening now through October.
Billy Strings, Tedeschi Trucks Band, The Revivalists, Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country, The Infamous Stringdusters, Karina Rykman, Maggie Rose, the Rock & Roll Playhouse, and Spafford, are joining moe., Umphrey’s McGee, the Disco Biscuits, Andy Frasco & the U.N., Doom Flamingo, and venues across the country to partner with the American Cancer Society to support and fundraise for breast cancer initiatives. Each group is putting their own spin on the cause, by selling limited-edition merchandise, playing pink instruments on stage, wearing pink throughout the month, and creating unique incentives for donations. All proceeds will be donated to ACS, the nation’s largest nonprofit source of cancer research funding. For more information and a full list of donation options, click here.
Each year during National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, ACS invites community leaders to wear pink, plan events, and use social media to help raise awareness and funds for the Society’s breast cancer initiatives. This year, Al Schnier and Vinnie Amico (moe.), along with Joel Cummings (Umphrey’s McGee), and Marc Brownstein (the Disco Biscuits), hosted a “Rock The Pink Gala” on October 16th, at Garcia’s in Port Chester, NY. This special evening raised over $17,000 for Rock The Pink and included an online auction, hang with the band, and two sets of special “pink” inspired songs. For a complete recap of the evening, check out the setlist and videos here.
Marc Brownstein, bass player for The Disco Biscuits, notes that his mother is a breast cancer survivor, and says “Any chance that I can to help out and raise awareness for this important cause, I’m going to do it.”
Jim Loughlin, moe.’s percussionist, whose wife is a breast cancer survivor says, “This is an important cause to me because I’ve lost too many people who are dear to me to cancer. Awareness as well as funding for prevention and treatment are absolutely necessary. I truly believe that together, we can beat this.”
In 2020, female breast cancer surpassed lung cancer as the most commonly diagnosed cancer worldwide. Despite this, the death rate from breast cancer dropped by 42 percent from 1989 to 2021 as a result of earlier detection through increased awareness and mammography screening, as well as advances in treatments. Today, we celebrate the more than 3.8 million breast cancer survivors in the U.S. including those who completed treatment and those still undergoing treatment.
ACS provides innovative research, patient services, health equity, and education around screenings and risk reduction. Since its inception, this annual program has raised more than $40 million towards the fight against breast cancer.
Stay tuned to the Rock The Pink website and social media pages of each Rock The Pink band, venue, and influencer, for details of their campaigns.
