LITCHFIELD— HSHS St. Francis Foundation will host the Robinson Brothers Homecoming Concert III for two performances on Friday, October 7 and Saturday, October 8, 2022. The Robinson Brothers, Robby and Rex, two of central Illinois’ rock ‘n’ roll legends, return to their native Litchfield accompanied by an all-star band. The theme of this event is “Together We Can Beat Cancer.” Doors will open at 6:15 p.m. with the concert starting at 7:30 p.m.
The Robinson Brothers are from Litchfield and graduated from Litchfield High School. The brothers are excited to return to their hometown and stated, “Cancer affects us all. We are 100 percent behind this cause. Come enjoy some great music and let’s make this happen.”
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“It’s going to be an awesome event this year and will be held at the beautiful Litchfield Community Center. Our heartfelt thanks to Robby and Rex and their all-star band. I also want to thank everyone who is helping to organize the concert as it is a huge undertaking, St. Francis Hospital President and CEO Jim Timpe said. “This popular and exciting event is an opportunity for us to highlight the important care within our Cancer Center and its mission since we opened it in 2017 – to provide patients with quality oncology treatment close to home. With the increasing volume of patients, we are needing to double our existing area to eleven infusion spaces. Expanding the cancer center space will create the necessary room to accommodate the expected need over the next twenty years.”
The planned expansion will include removing walls and reconfiguring hallways to create one large infusion space with a centrally located nursing station.
With a choice of two performances, Paula Endress, Director of Philanthropy said, “It will be a double performance of ‘Oh what a night’. We are honored that Robby and Rex are returning home again to graciously benefit our hospital. They are bringing an all-star cast of their music industry friends. Their music and generosity are an inspiration to all who are being treated for cancer.”
HSHS St. Francis Hospital Foundation board chairperson and member of the concert committee, Joann Anderson, added, “I want to thank all the members of the concert committee. They include Jane Martin, Nancy Hyam, Jen Henrichs, Denise Timpe, Jan Meyers, Denise DeLaCruz, Alisha Heyen, Kate Poirot, Bill Montgomery, Melissa Athmer, Gwen Barcum, Tonya Flannery, Shayla Kaeb, Pat Aten, and Paula Endress. We are all looking forward to a magical night of spectacular music.”
Individual tickets are now available and are $200 with table seating that includes a self-serve buffet featuring delicious Italian specialties prepared by Bella Catering of Bella Milano in Edwardsville. Tickets must be purchased in advance. No tickets will be sold at the door.
There also are several sponsorship opportunities available for the event. The Gold sponsorship ($10,000) includes one prominent table seating for 10, a pre-event reception with musicians featuring special appetizers and 60 drink tickets. This level receives verbal recognition at the event and in the program. They also receive a full-page ad in the program, recognition on the hospital donor wall, and reserved parking. Silver sponsors ($6,000) receive one table seating for 10, a pre-event reception with musicians featuring special appetizers and 30 complimentary drink tickets. They will receive verbal recognition at the event, one half-page ad in the program, and recognition on the hospital donor wall. Bronze sponsors ($3,000) receive one table seating for 10, a pre-event reception with musicians featuring special appetizers and 10 drink tickets, recognition in the event program, and on the hospital donor wall.
The Robinson brothers both have scores of mainstream music production credits. Robby Robinson is a keyboard whiz and Hammond organ artist with a career spanning 50 years. From Liza Minelli to Eddie Harris, The London Symphony Orchestra to Albert King, The Ventures, the Commodores and Tom Jones, Robby is best known as the music director/keyboardist for Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons since 1978. Rex Robinson has over 40 years’ experience playing the low notes and keeping the foundation for such superstars as Peggy Lee, The Beach Boys, Liza Minelli and The Four Tops, just to name a few. He played bass and sang bass for Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons for more than 20 years.
Guest stars for the concerts are Sara Niemietz, one of the fastest rising stars on the music scene today with records, Broadway and TV, as well as a YouTube channel. Christopher Kale Jones was seen recently in St. Louis and played the role of Frankie Valli in the hit musical Jersey Boys. He is also the star of the hit PBS “Under the Streetlamp.” Chris Montez brings his hit records, “Let’s Dance,” “The More I See You” and “Call Me,” to Litchfield. In 1962, Chris toured England and The Beatles were his opening act. Steve March-Torme is a phenomenal vocalist-recording artist who electrified Litchfield at the last Robinson Brothers concert. Andrea Hammond is a vocalist, violinist and recording artist whose music paints a diverse sound mosaic. She has collaborated with Robby on numerous projects.
Richie Gajate Garcia is a world-class percussionist who has toured with a who’s who of major artists such as Phil Collins, Sting, Diana Ross, John Denver, Stevie Wonder, The Boston Pops, as well as Frankie Valli. Craig Pilo is an amazing drummer who toured with Frankie Valli for 13 years. He played drums for the last two Robinson Brothers concerts. Chuck Wilson is a product of Litchfield and has been making music with Robby and Rex since they were all teenagers, back to the Far Cryse days. Chuck toured with Frankie Valli for years, singing and playing drums and percussion. Basil Fung has played guitar for Alanis Morissette, Wilson Phillips, and The Pointer Sisters. He is currently the guitarist in Frankie Valli’s band. Harry Kim, is an all-star trumpet player to such stars as Lady Gaga, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, and Phil Collins. He has played the high notes for American Idol, the Grammys, and the Oscars. Paul Von Mertens plays saxophone and woodwinds and has worked with Paul McCartney, Eric Clapton, and Elton John. He is best known as the music director for Brian Wilson since 1999. Dr. Jon Brummel is a low brass artist on the trombone for Frankie Valli in the northern California area. He has performed with Ray Charles, Johnny Mathis, Natalie Cole, and the San Francisco Symphony.
Concert and ticket information is located on the hospital’s website at www.hshs.org/StFrancis/Giving/Robinson-Brothers-Homecoming-Concert and on the hospital’s Facebook page www.facebook.com/StFrancisLitchfield under Events.
About HSHS St. Francis Hospital
HSHS St. Francis Hospital in Litchfield, Illinois offers a full range of health care services including an advanced surgery center; cancer care center; imaging for diagnostic purposes; and physical, cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation. In addition, St. Francis is the only hospital in the two-county area providing maternity services. The hospital is a member of Hospital Sisters Health System and is located halfway between St. Louis, Missouri and Springfield, Illinois. For more information, visit www.stfrancis-litchfield.org.
About Hospital Sisters Health System
Hospital Sisters Health System’s (HSHS) mission is to reveal and embody Christ’s healing love for all people through our high-quality Franciscan health care ministry. HSHS provides state-of-the-art health care to our patients and is dedicated to serving all people, especially the most vulnerable, at each of our physician practices and 15 local hospitals in two states – Illinois (Breese, Decatur, Effingham, Greenville, Highland, Litchfield, O’Fallon, Shelbyville and Springfield) and Wisconsin (Chippewa Falls, Eau Claire, Oconto Falls, Sheboygan and two in Green Bay). HSHS is sponsored by Hospital Sisters Ministries, and Hospital Sisters of St. Francis is the founding institute. For more information about HSHS, visit www.hshs.org. For more information about Hospital Sisters of St. Francis, visit www.hospitalsisters.org.
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