The fifth Annual Jammin’ For Jamie is prepared to bring awareness to mental health and suicide with some help from some big Canadian acts.
Sass Jordan and The Northern Pikes will be the entertainment on May 11 at Mavrick’s Music Hall at 46 Dunlop Street West as loved ones carry on the memory of Jamie Turner. Turner passed away in 2012 due to mental health issues and his family and friends are in their fifth year of organizing an event for the music lover.
Sue Turner and Jamie were married for 30 years and she says that while the night is full of music and fun in celebrating the life of her husband, the lead-up can be emotionally challenging.
“Every year as the Jammin' for Jamie event approaches, a wave of emotions hits everyone in our family,” said Turner. “At first it's excitement as we lock down a band and a date, but we also feel sadness. It's always a real honour seeing friends, family, and more and more people coming out each year to support Jammin ' for Jamie. But, strong emotions of grief also hit us as well, because we all know Jammin' for Jamie would have been the type of event that Jamie would have loved. We miss him like crazy, and every year as the event approaches, we are reminded of who we have lost, and all that we have been through. My brother wrote a tribute song It's Going To Take Me A While which always brings tears to my family's eyes. Jammin' for Jamie has been a remarkable experience for our family. It has helped us open up about our family's experience with mental illness; it has connected us with many others going through similar experiences, and has helped us all heal. We hope this event has and will help others too.”
The annual event has grown much more than Turner ever thought and as always will include some local talent. This year two big names will grace the stage thanks to the partnership with Mavrick’s and Impact Live.
“It first started off at the Army Navy Air Force Club in Barrie and partnered with the Canadian Mental Health Association as an event to celebrate the life of Jamie and create more awareness and help reduce the stigma surrounding Mental Illness,” said Turner. “We used music as the medium because Jamie loved music. Most folks that supported the event were family and friends and the numbers were 400 to 450 people. We still have two local bands open the concert, Fishhead and my brother's band, One Knight's Stand, but we now have Impact Live hire Classic Rock bands as the headliner. This year we have Sass Jordan and the Northern Pikes and the event has more than doubled in size. We hope to reduce the stigma surrounding mental illness by leading the way and showing people that it's okay to not be okay and to reach out for help. We lastly hope to raise funds for programs in our community that support people who are experiencing mental illness and their families.”
Don Schmid is the drummer for legendary Canadian rock band the Northern Pikes and says that this isn’t just some date on the calendar and the band can’t wait to get to the city and help out.
“You know, our lead singer Jay has always started shows by introducing us as The Northern Pikes from Saskatoon,” said Schmid. “I think that’s because we take a lot of pride in being a very Canadian band and when events such as Jammin’ For Jamie come about, it’s our little Canadian way I guess of being good neighbours and helping out.”
Fans of the band who assume they’ll get a little bit of a show and that’s it because it is a charity event should probably expect more from the band that doesn’t stop.
“We hit that stage and we go man,” said Schmid. “We’ve performed with Sass before, she’s a good friend and we’ll feed off each other’s energy. We do have a new album coming out in early 2019, but I think the fans in Barrie are in for some well-known classics and really great night of music and awareness.”
The show starts at 7 p.m. on Friday, May 11. Tickets for Jammin’ 4 Jamie are on sale now and all information can be found online
