Memorial Weekend Concert Features Nashville Singer/Songwriters

DEARBORN, MI – Singer/songwriter Stephen Cochran, the grand marshal in Dearborn’s 92nd annual Memorial Day Parade, and two other Nashville musicians will give a concert Saturday to raise money and awareness of programs aimed at reducing veteran suicides.

Singer/songwriters and combat veterans Sam Tate and Tyler Jay Satterfield will join Cochran in the concert, to be held at 7 p.m. Saturday, May 28, at the Hubbard Ballroom in the Ford Community and Performing Arts Center. Doors open at 6 p.m.

Though the concert is free, freewill donations will be given to the Michigan Wounded and Returning Warrior Program.

Cochran was born in Kentucky and raised in Nashville, but has a strong connection to Michigan after having spent summers as a child with his grandparents in Waterford, according to a press release.

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Following the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, Cochran joined the U.S. Marine Corps and served with the 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force in Iraq and Afghanistan.

During a combat patrol in Kandahar, he was severely wounded and left the Corps without the use of his legs.

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Told he’d never walk again, after an experimental procedure and extensive rehab, Cochran regained use of his legs and began to write powerful music about veterans and the struggles he, too, shared.

Cochran became a national spokesperson for the VA and produced music videos offering hope to men and women wrestling Post Traumatic Stress.

Cochran sings truthfully about service and sacrifice; its effect on veterans and their families; and, finding a way home through healing. His hit songs include “Friday Night Fireside,” “Hope,” “Gasoline on a Goodbye,” “When A Hero Falls,” “Pieces,” “She'll Thank Me Later” and “Whiskey Lies.”

“We raise awareness to veterans’ causes through our music and storytelling,” Cochran said in a news release. “It has become a great event for fellow vets to heal, civilians to be educated and everyone to unite.”

Satterfield, who stepped in after Dean left earlier this year to hike the Appalachian Trail with nine other veterans, is well known for the “EAS Song.”

Tate’s music career has allowed him to tour and write with some of the greatest names in folk and country music.

Hit songs include Chely Wright's "Shut Up and Drive," Rodney Atkins’ "If You're Going Through Hell," Reba McEntire's "Somebody," and Emerson Drive's "Moments."

His credits include two ACM nominations, two Grammy nominations, SESAC Songwriter of the Year, and numerous Gold and Platinum records.

A veteran himself, Tate sits on the board of the American Freedom Foundation and is a spokesperson for Project Healing Waters. He has hosted numerous events for Wounded Veterans all over the country and also works closely with Able Forces, an organization that trains and finds career opportunities for wounded vets.

Satterfield, 30, was born in Wisconsin, grew up in Indianapolis and moved with his family to Colorado just before he entered high school. He served with a Marines infantry unit for four years that included tours of duty in 10 foreign countries before his honorable discharged.

Patch file photo