Friends organize a benefit concert for the late Daniel Levesque’s family

Two of the late Daniel Levesque's friends and admirers, RSS music teacher Tessa Davis and musician and EZ Rock on-air personality Steve Smith, have organized a concert to benefit his family and endow a scholarship. David F. Rooney photo

By David F. Rooney

Two friends and admirers of Daniel Levesque, the young man slain in Victoria last month have organized a concert to benefit his family and endow a scholarship fund in his memory.

“He was a very special young man,” said Tessa Davis, his former music teacher at Revelstoke Secondary School.

She and fellow musician Steve Smith, who is also EZ Rock’s local on-air personality, said the concert scheduled for September 10, will help his mother Stacy Thur and her family by helping pay for counselling for Daniel’s young siblings and defray the cost of travel to Victoria when his accused killer goes to trial. It will also help endow a memorial scholarship in his name.

“Daniel had a lot of talent and we (members of the Maritime Kitchen Party) enjoyed playing with him,” Smith said. “He was a frequent performer at the Open Mic Nights at the Last Drop so we are also pleased to hold an after-concert event at the pub from 10 pm until 1 am.”

They said the event which begins at 7:30 pm will feature music by six local bands as well as a silent auction.

The bands are: The Old Souls featuring Jackson Yauck, Riley Dickson, Nikki Treber and Devin Channell;

The Blackbirds, with Kurt Clayton and Taylor Roberts; Bon St John, with Henry Davis, Josh Rogers, Sam McNutt, Drew Mundell and Braelin Kelly; The Sixth Interval featuring Jacob Wallach, Leslie Opatril, Cathy Cameron-Suchy, Sylvain Hebert, Carl Laurence andTessa Davis; the Bob Rogers Trio with Bob Rogers, Shannon Sternloff and Trevor Wallach; and the Maritime Kitchen Party with Steve Smith, Sternloff, Wallach and special guest Toni Teed.

The concert will be filmed by Brent Veideman and DVDs of the concert will be offered for sale.

“We’ve printed 740 tickets and we’re anticipating a good turnout,” Smith said.

“Daniel touched a lot of lives and he was certainly the one student I most admired,” Davis said.

Local sponsorships for this special event (click here to view the poster) are by Pharmasave, 106.1 FM EZ Rock, Cooper’s, School District 19, Revelstoke Printing, the Revelstoke Arts Council, the Revelstoke Theatre Company, Powder Springs’ Last drop Pub and Mount Begbie Brewing Company.

Admission is $20 for adults, $15 for students and seniors and $10 for children under 12. Tickets are available at Talisman Fibre and Trading Company, RSS, the Community Centre and The Cash Store