Musicians made a difference Saturday through the “One For The Heroes Veterans Appreciation Concert.” Tim Zach, Luke Mills and Dylan Bloom teamed up with the country music radio station Y102 for the show in the Pavillion Arena at the Buffalo County fairgrounds.
The musicians have wanted to join forces for a while, and it finally happened after a month and a half of planning.
“This is super special,” Bloom said. “What a cool thing to bring music together to celebrate our heroes. That’s what we’re doing tonight — being a part of something bigger than ourselves.”
Because of generous sponsorship, the first 200 veterans at the door had free admission, and the first 100 received free t-shirts.
“I think it’s very nice,” said Brian Schlote, a U.S. Army veteran. “That was just music to my ears that somebody would step up to do that. I appreciate all the support, especially around Veterans Day.”
The event kicked off shortly after 7:30 p.m. with U.S. Army veteran Brian Cameron, the radio station’s director of sales, leading the crowd in the Pledge of Allegiance. With that, Bloom took the stage with a solo acoustic set. Mills followed, and Zach rounded off the night.
All three musicians have personal connections with veterans that made the night even more special.
Mills’ family has a long line of veterans, and he dedicated a song to his brother recently deployed. Zach also honored his family history through his song “Like Him” which he wrote about his grandfather, a WWII veteran.
Zach, Mills and Bloom are moving forward in their careers in music with new releases and plans for touring next summer. The musician friends recently recorded a single together in Nashville, which was a first for this team. Y102 plays their songs on the air, and support from the area has been bountiful.
“I’m really proud to be from the Kearney and the Tri-City area,” Mills said. “Everyone’s family to me here.”
Even with their growing popularity, these artists have not lost sight of the opportunities they have been given.
“Thanks to all the veterans out there for doing what they do for us,” Zach said. “The least we can do is to play some music and make people forget about all the terrible stuff in the world for a couple hours.”
