Florida's Matchbox Twenty, ex-Eagles' guitarist Don Felder to play Ian show in Fort Myers

Rock stars Matchbox Twenty and former Eagles guitarist Don Felder are lending their musical muscle to an October fundraiser marking the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Ian.

Organizers The Charity Pros announced the Hammond Stadium concert Monday night. The “Hurricane Heroes” All-Star Concert also features Southwest Florida musical acts Red Hannah, Matty Jollie, Sheena Brook and “more surprises,” according to a news release.

“This event will bring the community together to help honor heroes of Hurricane Ian,” Charity Pros founder Megan Maloney said in the release. “In addition to our first responder heroes that saved lives, rescuing thousands of people and animals, there are so many incredible stories of regular folks, unsung heroes, that have exhibited incredible acts of humanity, kindness, and generosity over this past year.”

Raising money for Southwest Florida's bands and musicians

The Saturday, Oct. 7, concert is a fundraiser for local musicians through the nonprofits Music Alive SWFL, the Tabarrini Children’s Outreach Foundation and The Charity Pros Megan’s Wish program.

Tickets start at $79 and go on sale at 10 a.m. Wednesday, July 19. A presale for The Charity Pros donors starts at 10 a.m. Tuesday, July 18, at thecharitypros.org.

“You don’t want to miss this incredible event; we have several surprises,” said Brad Maloney, The Charity Pros’ vice president of operations and events, in the news release. “It has been many years since there has been a concert on the field at Hammond Stadium; we are very proud to be working together with the Mighty Mussels organization to bring this show to the community for a great cause.”

The “all-stars” in the concert’s title refers to Felder and Matchbox Twenty, but also to “local musicians coming together with Red Hannah to perform the opening set,” Bradley Maloney said.

The Grammy Award-nominated Matchbox Twenty headlines the concert. The Orlando-formed band’s rock hits include “Unwell,” “If You’re Gone,” “3AM” and “Push.”

Felder is a four-time Grammy Award winner and a 1998 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee (along with The Eagles). The Gainesville-born guitarist co-wrote The Eagles “Hotel California” and played with the band from 1974 to 2001.

Honoring heroes: Keith Urban rocks Naples at concert for Hurricane Ian first responders, others

More about The Charity Pros

The Charity Pros raises money for children and children’s social causes. It also helps grant wishes for children in its Megan’s Wish program, including vacations, meetings with celebrities, toys and more.

The nonprofit previously organized two major fundraising events in 2021: A Hertz Arena concert with rock legends John Fogerty and Foreigner, and a virtual fundraiser featuring performances and recorded messages from Fogerty, Lance Bass of NSYNC, country star Rosanne Cash, Felder, Ziggy Marley, actress Andrea Barber of “Full House” and more celebrities.

For tickets and more information, visit thecharitypros.org.

— Connect with this reporter: Charles Runnells is an arts and entertainment reporter for The News-Press and the Naples Daily News. For news tips or other entertainment-related matters, call him at 239-335-0368 (for tickets to shows, call the venue) or email him at crunnells@gannett.com. You can also connect with him on Facebook (facebook.com/charles.runnells.7), Twitter (@charlesrunnells) and Instagram (@crunnells1).

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Matchbox Twenty, ex-Eagles’ Don Felder to play Ian benefit concert