International Artists Broadcast from Area Living Room Concert Series to Raise Epilepsy Awareness

Did you know that 1 in 26 people will develop epilepsy in their lifetime?  Did you know that 50,000 people die each year from epilepsy – prolonged seizures, sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP), and epilepsy related causes (i.e. accidental drowning)?  And that 65 million people live with epilepsy everyday – including three million in the United States alone?  Most do not, which is partly the purpose behind Candlelight Concerts for Epilepsy Awareness. 

Candlelight Concerts for Epilepsy Awareness is a fundraising concert series designed to raise awareness and spread facts about epilepsy.  The house concert series is in Pennington NJ and open to 45 guests per show.  The shows are also streamed online with proceeds going to epilepsy charities including the Epilepsy Foundation of New Jersey, who is on-hand at each event to provide information and accept donations.

The other purpose is more personal; to honor Carolina Miller, who passed away tragically in August 2011 from SUDEP.  Carolina, age 25, was diagnosed with epilepsy in her teenage years and the cause was unknown. Not unlike autism, epilepsy is a spectrum of disorders.  Carolina was like many people living with epilepsy in that her seizures were infrequent and controlled with medication.  She was not aware of the threat of SUDEP.  Neither was her husband, Eric Miller, who created and runs this series from his home as part of his efforts to raise awareness around epilepsy in Carolina’s honor. 

Growing out of larger benefit/memorial concert held in Trenton in March 2012, this series allows the message and cause to continue moving forward.  House concerts provide the audience an intimate and comfortable experience while providing the performer a focused and appreciative audience.  With Candlelight Concerts for Epilepsy Awareness, the additional element of streaming each performance online opens each intimate show to a global audience.  Streamed online at www.StageIt.com for a pay-what-you-like donation, fans of any given performer can tune in to a great night of music for a great cause.  Viewers have tuned into these shows from all over the globe including such faraway places as Brazil, Sweden and Hong Kong.

Shows are hosted 2-3 times a month with ticket prices ranging from $15 to $25.  Some of the performers that have participated in this series and cause include The Young Dubliners, Jeffrey Gaines, John Wesley Harding, Freedy Johnston, Francis Dunnery, Val Emmich, Meg Hutchinson, Dan Reed (whose song Candlelight is the namesake of the series), Ari Hest, Carsie Blanton, Sharon Little and Jann Klose. 

Very honored to have the following performers joining in this series and lending their talents to raising epilepsy awareness:

10/13 - Jesse Harris
Jesse Harris is an accomplished singer, songwriter, guitarist and producer. Best known as Norah Jones guitarist and for having written and played guitar on her breakout hit “Don’t Know Why” (for which he won the 2003 Grammy Award for Song Of The Year), he has also had his songs recorded by numerous other artists, including Smokey Robinson, Willie Nelson, Cat Power, Solomon Burke, and Emmylou Harris. As a solo artist, Jesse has released over 10 albums, including his latest release, titled Sub Rosa.

10/20 – Chris Barron (of Spin Doctors)
Chris Barron is many things to many people: the voice of the Spin Doctors, the face of the jamband scene, an MTV superstar, an East Village troubadour, the author of some of the 1990s’ most enduring radio hits, a father and a teacher. But these days, the Spin Doctors singer is most at home when he’s simply playing rock and roll.

10/26 – Sean Rowe
Several years ago musician and naturalist Sean Rowe walked out into the wilderness alone. He spent the next 24 days constructing shelter and foraging for food to eat. He would come away from the experience with the songs that would eventually comprise his dazzling debut album Magic. The San Francisco Chronicle described the record as “beautiful and haunting.”  On his new album The Salesman and the Shark, Rowe has created a work that brilliantly reconfigures classic sounds in support of his intensely observational lyrics and the remarkable ever evolving vocals which inspired No Depression Magazine to succinctly state, “Man, that voice.”

11/4 – Chris Trapper (of The Push Stars)
Chris Trapper began his career as the front man for late–90’s alternative rock band The Push Stars. With four CD releases and several high profile national tours – including a run with Matchbox Twenty – The Push Stars served to establish Chris as an authentic talent. As a modern day singer–songwriter, Chris is most known for his song This Time, the Number 1 selling song on the Grammy nominated soundtrack for August Rush (Robin Williams, Jonathan Rhys Meyers).

11/24 – Corey Glover (of Living Colour)
You know Corey Glover's powerful voice. Corey is the lead singer and one fourth of the pioneering, Grammy winning, platinum selling rock band Living Colour.  Living Colour earned numerous industry awards including back-to-back Grammys for Best Hard Rock Performance of 1989 ('Cult of Personality') and 1990 (Time's Up) and emerged as one of the most influential rock acts of all time: regularly selling out arenas and selling millions of albums. As vocal proponents for black self-reliance and pride, they broke down more than their fair share of musical barriers and served as role models for other black bands who had their sights set on hard rock recognition.

But that is only a portion of his musical journey to date. In 1998, Corey released his debut solo record, Hymns, to much critical acclaim. He's been featured on records around the world as a premier vocalist, acted in motion pictures including the 1986 Best Picture Platoon, performed theatrically onstage in such shows as Jesus Christ Superstar and tours extensively with funk-rock legends, Galactic.

For tickets and more information:
www.CandlelightConcert.org   |   www.Facebook.com/CandlelightConcert