Stars to the Rescue 2009

Save the date! Please join ARF at 6:30 p.m. on Sunday, January 18, 2009 at the Chaifetz Arena in St. Louis, Missouri for ARF's St. Louis Stars to the Rescue. Individual tickets, priced at $250, $55, $40, and $25 (students with ID only) are on sale now and can be purchased through Metrotix at 314.534.1111.

Upon the induction of Vince Gill into the esteemed Country Music Hall of Fame in 2007, Kyle Young of the Country Music Foundation said ”Vince Gill is quite simply a living prism refracting all that is good in country music. He uses the crystal planes of his songwriting, his playing, and his singing to give us a musical rainbow that embraces all men and spans all seasons." Gill has recorded more than twenty studio albums, charted over forty singles on the U.S. Billboard charts as Hot Country Songs, and has sold more than 22 million albums. He has been honored by the Country Music Association with 18 CMA Awards, including two Entertainer of the Year awards and five Male Vocalist Awards. Gill has also earned 19 Grammy Awards, more than any other male Country music artist.

Grammy-winning and Academy Award-nominated American rock entertainer Huey Lewis of The News had several hit songs during the 1980s and early 1990s. His greatest success was in the 1980s with the surprise #1 album, Sports, and a series of hit singles. His worldwide fame expanded when the song, "The Power of Love" was utilized as a key track in the film, Back to the Future. In 2007, Garth Brooks released a duet with Huey, with a cover of "Workin' For a Living". The single reached the top 25 on the Billboard Country chart.

Take a trip back in time while listening to the songs of REO Speedwagon, compliments of Kevin Cronin and Dave Amato. Kevin first joined REO Speedwagon in 1972 for the album R.E.O./T.W.O. on which he wrote three tracks. In 1977, Kevin took over the band's production along with Gary Richrath, and has since been a tireless frontman, writing many of the band's most popular tracks, including their first top 40 hit, “Roll With the Changes” and their first number one, “Keep On Loving You.” Dave Amato joined REO in 1989 for the album The Earth, A Small Man, His Dog, and a Chicken, after playing with Ted Nugent and Bon Jovi's Richie Sambora. He has also toured extensively with Cher. Besides playing guitar, he sings high harmonies and has done studio background vocals for various groups from Petra to Motley Crue.

An American Comedy Award winner, Kathleen Madigan’s accessible and unpretentious style has earned her a devoted and growing following. Kathleen packs theaters from Nevada to North Carolina and everywhere in between. Kathleen's a mainstay on Comedy Central, performs standup specials on HBO, and is the host of her own weekly show on Sirius Radio Networks, The Kathleen Madigan Show.

In the summer of 2006, three gifted young adults walked into a house hoping to create music together—and Lady Antebellum walked out. The sound that Hillary Scott, Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood cooked up while hanging at the Nashville-area home of Charles’ brother throughout the summer of 2006 is a unique blend that mingles classic country, 1960s R&B soulfulness and the heart-on-the-sleeve openness of 1970s singer-songwriters, all presented with a razor-sharp contemporary edge. Already the trio has been nominated for “Top New Group” at the 2008 Academy of Country Music (ACM) Awards.

Sharing his comedy style which often simulates a mental breakdown or rant, ridiculing history, politics, religion, trends and cultural phenomena is Lewis Black, Grammy Award-winning American stand-up comedian, author, playwright and actor. He hosts Comedy Central's The Root of All Evil and makes regular appearances on The Daily Show delivering his “Back in Black” commentary segment.

Marc Russo, a long-standing member of the Doobie Brothers, has been ARF’s Stars to the Rescue musical director for many years. Marc is a legendary saxophonist and composer who has played with Tower of Power, Huey Lewis and the News and Kenny Loggins. Marc also composed and produced a solo CD for JVC Records titled “The Window.”

Proceeds from Stars will benefit Tony La Russa’s Animal Rescue Foundation as well as many animal rescue organizations in the greater St. Louis area.

Sponsorships are currently available for this exciting annual event. Please view the available sponsorship levels and contact Judy Bentley at 925.296.3154 or jbentley@arf.net to reserve yours today. Individual tickets, priced at $250, $55, $40, and $25 (students with ID only) are on sale now and can be purchased through Metrotix at 314.534.1111.