The Fox was rocked on Saturday night with local bands and enthusiastic supporters.
But one group tells a different story born from their choice to sacrifice everything.
Brought together through their passion for music, after years of risking it all.
A band of brothers was formed.
“I'm in the Marine Corps and I was stationed out in Helmund Province, Afghanistan in 2012 during Operation Enduring Freedom,” said member Micah McCullough.
“I was in the Army for a little over a decade. I was a paratrooper engineer. So jumping out of planes. I did numerous deployments,” said member Aaron Mercier.
Three men representing the Marine Corps and two with the Army, music was something they always had.
Although their style may not be everyone's first choice, while serving overseas it was their reason to keep going.
“Yeah when you had power, music was everything. You know you're doing long convoys in the turret, sometimes you've got to have something to motivate you,” said Mercier.
And sometimes that little push is all it takes, making tonight's benefit performance extra special.
“We reach out to the veterans with our music and we give them songs and a message they can really understand. Because we've been there and some of the songs we've written, the lyrics, the content, it's all about our experience in Afghanistan and that really helps,” said McCullough.
That message heard as clear as an order by other veterans like Chad Garcia.
“And something like this to benefit local veterans, local wounded vets, like myself with PTSD, TBI, amputees, burn victims, whatever it may be. It's a good way to bring the community together but it's also knows that like the community is behind you to include local artists,” said Garcia.
It's not unusual to see veterans making the most of what they have, but when you give these five an instrument and a reason to keep going, they will always give their all.
Tonight may have been the first time that local groups like this were able to perform in the Fox Theater, but now the mission moving forward is to make this benefit an annual event. With hopes to grow the event and support the more than 40 thousand veterans that call Kern County home.
