El Paso area musicians planning to ‘Rock for Ruidoso’

EL PASO, Texas ( KTSM ) – El Paso night club 101 is calling all rockers across the Borderland to Rock for Ruidoso at a benefit concert on Sunday, July 14.

Doors open at 12:30 p.m. at the club located at the Mesa Inn, 4151 N. Mesa.

There will be a $10 cover charge at the door, with all the proceeds going to victims of the Ruidoso fires and floods.

“Rock for Ruidoso” t-shirts will also be on sale for $25, all of which will also go to victims.

There will also be a donation drop-off site at the club for people who want to bring physical donations such as blankets, clothing, toys for kids, or anything that might help.

The concert will feature eight local bands, some well-known to others who are up and coming, that all jumped at the idea of playing for free in order to contribute to the cause.

“We’ve actually skyrocketed with how many people have been wanting to help. We’ve had people wanting to come and volunteer. We’ve had bands just trying to jump on. Unfortunately, we’ve had to turn away bands because we just don’t have that many time slots,” said John Summerford, a 101 DJ who goes by the name of “Johnny Crash,” who came up with the idea of the benefit concert.

Summerford said that when the fires were raging, his son had asked him if there was anything they could do, and that’s where the idea sparked.

Since then, many local sponsors have jumped in to donate and make the concert happen. Summerford said the response from everyone “skyrocketed” and felt this is something that they needed to do.

“Because Ruidoso is kind of a foundation for El Paso as well, it’s a get-away spot for a lot of people that go there to relax and enjoy nature, to enjoy the forests. The people up there, Main Street, Ruidoso Downs, the Mescalero Apaches, everything up there is almost like a sister to what El Paso is,” Summerford said.

Summerford said they will put on a “heck” of a show, and at the end of the day, their goal is to help victims as much as they can to “get their lives back.”

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