Oct. 21 concert benefits Gulf Coast Musicians Medical Fund
Oct. 21 concert benefits Gulf Coast Musicians Medical Fund
By Missy Jones
Make plans to join in supporting an extremely worthy cause at The Point Restaurant in Pensacola on Saturday, Oct. 21 from noon to 10 p.m. Two stages of music (Courtyard stage and Restaurant stage) with 18 different acts throughout the day. Tickets can be purchased through GCMMF.ORG or at the gate for $10. Donations can also be made through the web site. And after looking at this years lineup, it will certainly be a wonderful day of great music for a great cause.
Back in ’18, a local musician/songwriter in the Gulf Coast area saw a need, and started Gulf Coast Musicians Medical Fund. GCMMFund is a non-profit charity that pays for the Urgent Care/Minor Med office visit and prescriptions associated with that visit for Gulf Coast Musicians and Songwriters in Alabama, Florida, Mississippi and Louisiana at no cost to the Gulf Coast musician or songwriter. You read it right. No cost to the GC musician or songwriter.
The idea for GCMMFund came about after Webb Dalton lost 3 close musician/songwriter friends of his to minor health issues that due to the lack of medical care became major health issues that ultimately contributed them to losing their life. Webb felt in his heart that something needed to be done, and instead of just talking about it, started Gulf Coast Musicians Medical Fund.
Webb has played music for over four decades opening for Garth Brooks, Randy Travis, George Strait, George Jones, and others. He’s also released 4 albums with a single reaching #36 on the Billboard Country Charts and two singles reaching the #1 spot on the Trop Rock charts.
In ’18, Webb released a gospel CD “Things Left Undone” to launch GCMMFund with all proceeds from sales going to the charity. “I wanted to release the gospel CD to raise money for the charity, so the CD was released to all the digital download sites and sold through the charity web site, GCMMF.ORG”, says Webb. “Things Left Undone” was recorded in Memphis, TN with his Memphis band with Bruce Carrol and Webb producing. The CD is a beautiful list of old Southern Gospel songs that Webb describes as his “Memphis music roots meets his Montgomery, Alabama roots”. Webb was born in Montgomery, Alabama and raised in Memphis, TN.
“Due to the fact that most full-time musicians make the same or close to what they made in the ‘80’s, going from gig to gig to make a living, when a musician or songwriter is sick, there are no sick days. If you don’t play, you don’t get paid. And coming up with $150 to $200 for an office visit and $300 or $400 for prescriptions, a lot of musicians and songwriters just work through it because the bills must be paid, groceries must be bought and the electricity needs to stay on. GCMMFund helps fill that void. Because of the generosity of others, this charity has been able to help”, says Webb.