The second annual Samapalooza is set to rock Squamish on Saturday March 28 at Totem Hall with headliner the Latency Band.
Musicians from around B.C. are banding together to raise money for the Sustainability through Agriculture and Micro-Enterprises (SAM) Project, a non-profit group that creates rural development projects in Zambia.
Samapalooza is an opportunity to remember Squamish teen Sam Eves, who was killed at a house party in March 2007. The Eves family started the SAM Project shortly after their son's death.
"The SAM Project is our way of doing something productive and keeping him close to our hearts. The annual concert keeps Sam alive in a way," said Colin Eves, father of the slain teen.
The concert starts at 7 p.m. and features acts such as Bullet in Overdrive, Moments, Missing Starla, Sound Refuge and The Latency. Samapalooza also includes a concession, door prizes and a silent auction. The concert is designed to be alcohol, drug and violence free.
A Canadian pop punk band from Maple Ridge, the Latency recently served as the opening act for Hedley's Western Canadian tour. The Latency broke top 30 in the Canadian music charts with their single "Tonight I Love You."
"We play pop rock music songs that stick in your head and tunes you can sing to. Samapalooza will be our first time headlining something of that size and it's for a good cause," said band Brandon Lehti.
Eves said he appreciates support from the community, which will raise much-needed funds for the SAM Project.
Meanwhile, the SAM Project is once again interviewing young people for the Squamish Community Awareness Program (SCAP) trip to Zambia this spring.
"We will be taking four kids over to Zambia and moving forward with a few micro-enterprise projects," Eves said.
In June 2008, four young people from Squamish flew to Africa to participate in the SAM Project and learn about the conditions and challenges of the impoverished Third World. For three weeks, they worked in vegetable gardens, planted tree seedlings, participated in HIV/AIDS awareness workshops, and helped teach pre-school children, all in rural Zambia.
Eves added that the SCAP volunteers stayed overnight in the villages, and got first-hand experience in how subsistence families live. The young adults helped raise funds for the trip prior to departure.
"The SAM Project was established to honour Sam. It is our hope that through our efforts and activities, others might know some of the same sense of abundance, love and happiness that Sam brought to his family and friends," Eves said.
Tickets for Samapalooza are available at the Style Zone, Brackendale Bean and O'Brien Pet Foods. Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the door. For more information on the SAM Project, check out www.thesameproject.ca.
