ELLY GRIMM
• Leader & Times
Country musician Jake Gill has been working on making his mark in the music world the past few years, and soon, he will be making his way to the area.
Gill will be bringing his band and music to the area with an upcoming concert, which will be at 8 p.m. Saturday, May 10 at Bullwackerz Saloon at 109 E. 6th Street in Hugoton. The show is free and sponsored by Bullwackerz Saloon, but reservations are encouraged since 20 free VIP meet and greets are being offered, which will entitle lucky guests to a pre-show acoustic set on the bus with the band. Attendees will also have the opportunity to adopt a facility-bound veteran at the event and even communicate with their adoptee, and each person who adopts a veteran will receive a gift from the band after the event.
Gill said he is excited to be coming back to his home area, and for a very good cause.
“It's been a while since I've performed in that area, so it'll be awesome to be back, and we've also got a new single for the summer about to come out, so we're excited to share that,” Gill said. “I was born in Southwest Kansas, I actually grew up in Meade. Southwest Kansas has also always been a great spot for country music, I know there's a great radio station in Liberal that does a great job promoting live music events and concerts throughout the area. I've also made a lot of friends and connections from that area throughout the years, so I thought it would be great to do concerts there and share our music. Most importantly, however, we're starting our fundraising campaign for a concert series called No Veteran Alone. With that series, we're going to have concerts outside of veteran homes and soldier homes across the U.S., and we're going to start that this summer. We also have a gift pack every veteran at each facility will receive, which includes a dog tag and a thank you card. People who attend those concerts can sponsor a veteran, and they actually sign the back of the dog tag and hand write the thank you card to either an anonymous veteran or a veteran in their own family. We'll mail those out to those respective people, but with the anonymous ones, we'll take those with us when we do our concerts and hand them out to the veterans and shake their hands.”
Gill said his appreciation for veterans was sparked at an early age.
“When I was little, my family had a friend who had served in the military and suffered from extreme post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) at the end of his life. He got into some legal trouble later around his 70s, and the judge gave him the option of going to jail or going to a soldier's home and finish his life there,” Gill said. “He chose the soldier's home, and when we'd go and visit my grandparents out in the area, we'd stop in Dodge City and my dad would visit with him. Those visits have always stuck with me, and the desire to support veterans has always been in the back of my mind. Then, it was around last fall when God put it into my spirit this was something we needed to do. We're going to meet some incredible people everywhere we go, and I have discovered when you have a cause behind what you're doing, you meet even better people and hear their stories. All of that is just so beneficial, and I'm looking forward to all of our other stops, which will include Satanta and Moscow, and we'll also be traveling to New Mexico and Tennessee and California, so we'll be bouncing around some.”
Gill’s interest in music was also sparked at a young age, he said.
“My dad was a music teacher at Southwestern Heights, so music's really always been a big part of my life,” Gill said. “Then, I went on 'The Voice' in 2012 and did pretty well there, and then I got the bug to keep performing, and it's just gone from there because I realized music and performing were what I enjoyed the most.”
Overall, Gill said, he is excited for his upcoming stop in Hugoton.
“My style is a great mix of classic country, new country and everything in between, so it should be a great and entertaining time for everyone. Overall, it'll be a fun time and we'll all be jamming, and the audiences should go home happy with what they see and hear. I also believe the world needs great music right now, so if you're a fan, come on out!” Gill said. “It's going to be a great show for everyone, and everyone who turns out should end up having a great time. If you like good country music, this will be the show for you, and we hope to see a lot of people out there in Hugoton that night. I would also encourage people to follow us on social media, we'll be sharing updates on other shows and other ways to support our work supporting veterans.”
