My brother Brian has two wonderful boys.  His oldest, my nephew James, is autistic and having a child on the spectrum has made my brother a passionate promoter and fundraiser for Autism Speaks. He’s created a group he calls “The James Gang” and their fundraising efforts have included walk-athons and, in the last few years, an all day event he calls Light It Up With The Blues.

I’m always happy to donate my services on this day.  I get to spin some cool tunes, use my gift of gab to promote raffle and 50/50 sales throughout the day and then announce some winners.  This year I recorded my opening set and uploaded it to my Sound Cloud page right here.  Give it a spin especially if you like classic rock.

Meantime, some killer bands play and entertain the crowd.

This year Brian raised over $6,000 for the cause.  I can’t tell you how proud I am of my kid brother.  It’s an amazing accomplishment and I know this event is only going to continue to grow in popularity each and every year.

If you’d like to support the cause, Brian is also participating in a walk to raise money for Autism Speaks.  You can donate to him right here.

Meantime, here are a handful of pictures from the benefit taken by a great photographer named Mike.  If you want to see more check out the Facebook photo album by clicking here.