The sixth annual Jammin’ For Jamie rocked downtown Barrie last night for a great cause with a legendary Canadian rocker.
Jammin’ For Jamie 6 saw hundreds of people pack into Mavricks Music Hall on Dunlop Street West, Saturday night, in hopes of raising money and awareness for mental health.
The first show in 2013 started a partnership with the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) as an event to celebrate the life of Jamie Turner, who died from mental-health issues in 2012.
It was designed to create more awareness and help reduce the stigma surrounding mental illness. Music was used as the medium because of Turner's love of music and most folks that supported the event were family and friends.
Two local bands open the concert, Fishhead and One Knight's Stand, a band fronted Turner’s brother-in-law, Tim Tokarz.
Tokarz told BarrieToday that no matter how many years the show has been going on, he feels the emotions for his lifelong friend every time before he gets up on stage.
“When I first got on stage in the first year, I knew everybody in the audience. Now I don’t recognize most of the people, which means the event is growing,” Tokarz said. “I’m terrified seconds before I go on stage, but I say a little prayer and get to it. Once I’m on stage the adrenaline hits me and I see the love in the room, it's all good after that and it's all for Jamie.”
Jammin’ For Jamie has had big names the last couple shows, with Sass Jordan and The Northern Pikes coming out last year.
Last night it was legendary Canadian rocker Kim Mitchell who took the stage to entertain a packed Mavricks Music Hall.
BarrieToday spoke to Mitchell about what it meant to perform for the event.
“This is a really cool event and the organizers put a lot into this every year, so it is a show that you want to make sure you are giving your all for,” said Mitchell.
“Mental illness is something we have to keep talking about, keep being open about," he added. "If gathering at a cool venue on a Saturday night in downtown Barrie helps folks talk about it, then why not, right?”
