Free Memorial Day To Remember Concert is May 26

Free Memorial Day To Remember Concert is May 26
Patriotic event at Warrior Beer Co. show part of Vets Songwriting Retreat

Warrior Beer Company will host A Memorial Day To Remember Concert on Monday, May 26, as part of its Pensacola Songwriting Retreat For Veterans Weekend Retreat on the expansive campus of the vet owned (Gary Hefner) brewery at 10605 Sorrento Rd. in Pensacola.
The Memorial Day concert will include Hollard, which features retired Navy members, Zachary Thomas Diedrich, combat vet Justin Touchette, The Modern Eldorados and the headlining Dave Bray USA.
There will be food available from Shotguns Smokehouse BBQ, No Borders Street Food and Topwater Oysters. Attendees are encouraged to bring chairs and blankets for general admission field seating. There will also be an evening bonfire to add atmosphere. General admission to the concert is free, but there is also a VIP upgrade available. For more info, email info@freedomsingsUSA.org, visit freedomsingsusa.org or call 240-372-8186. Military and first responders will receive special recognition at the show.
The military vet songwriters retreat will bring Nashville writers Bill Whyte, Bobby Tomberlin, Mutt Cooper and Steve Dean to Pensacola for a weekend collaboration with military vets who have stories to tell through musical verse.
It includes a private orientation and mixer on May 24, workshops for vets, first responders and their families and the Memorial Day concert, which starts at 1 p.m. following the National Anthem at noon.
“The concert will raise money to start the Emerald Coast chapter for Freedom Sings USA,’’ said Hefner. “Freedom Sings partners Nashville songwriters with veterans and first responders to write music about their story. We have amazing songwriters joining us for the weekend retreat.’’
The mission of Freedom Sings USA is to help veterans, military personnel, and their families reach emotional balance through the creative process of songwriting and music-arts therapy.
During the band switch outs on Memorial Day, songwriters from Freedom Sings will share the songs they wrote during the Memorial Weekend retreat.
“Songwriters have always been a great part of the Gulf Coast and we look forward to starting our chapter of Freedom Sings to encourage our military and first responders to share their stories,’’ Hefner said.
The lineup includes:
• Justin Touchette served in the Air Force and Army for a total of 12 years, deploying to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, and Afghanistan, where he played in a church band. In 2011, he retired due to injuries suffered during his military service. It led to the amputation of his right foot in 2016. Two years later, he found the purpose and peace he’d been looking for when he picked up a guitar and started writing songs. His current Pensacola based band, The Way, previously played as Moderate Chop, and includes Joshua Strickland, Shawn Browns and Matthew Bradley.
• Dave Bray served as an FMF Corpsman for 2/2 STA Platoon, the “sharp edge of the sword” for the Marine Rifle Battalion. A patriotic storyteller, Bray used music as an outlet to fill in the void that was left after his service. While he is the front man, his wife Becky is lovingly referred to as “Mission Control.” In 2018, they released Music On A Mission. It features songs narrated by Bray, including “Warrior Inside,” “Last Call,” and “Into the Fire.” His second album includes “One Day of Hell,’’ a song about the 9/11 attacks. Bray is also an active advocate for the estimated 40,000 veterans who are homeless on any given night.
“To fight this epidemic, it takes more than just logistics. It’s tackling the heart issues, the pride issues, and the perceptions that veterans are trained not to be weak,’’ Bray said. “ It is drilled into us that we can never allow ourselves to be the ‘weakest’ link in the chain. And because of this, vets who actually need help often don’t reach out until it’s too late, if they reach out at all.’’
• Zachary Thomas Diedrich has been forging his own brand of traditional country, blues, roots, alternative rock, classic rock, americana, folk, pop, and jazz for 20 years. One of the goals in his songwriting process is to convey his message so simply that the words write themselves in the listeners mind before the words are even sung. He has released six albums

Pictured: Justin Touchette, Warrior Beer Co., Brewery owner Gary Hefner and Dave Bray, Zach Diedrich.