From George Harrison’s Concert for Bangladesh to four decades’ worth of Farm Aid shows, musicians have a long history of lending their talents to support worthy causes.
Add Mike Fitzgerald and friends to the list.
On Oct. 19, the fourth annual Fitzgerald-organized Rock Against Cancer event will take place, with three bands performing from 6 p.m. onward at the Dough Daddy Brewery in West Deer.
Proceeds benefit Cancer Bridges, a Strip District-based nonprofit that provides free programs and services to support people who are impacted by the disease.
Fitzgerald was among them.
“I was diagnosed with cancer on my 25th birthday and went through chemotherapy and radiation,” he said, and fortunately, “It’s been in remission for all these years now.”
He joined a young adult support group offered by the Cancer Caring Center, which eventually joined with Our Clubhouse to become Cancer Bridges. In 1994, he was asked to join the center’s board and later served two terms as chairman.
Meanwhile, he was getting serious about pursuing an early interest.
“I started being a musician in high school and played in our jazz ensemble, which wasn’t really jazz,” he said. “It was really a rock band.”
After graduating from Sewickley Academy, he earned his bachelor’s degree at Duke University, concentrating more on studies than music.
While working for his parents’ company — Frontiers International Travel, which he and his sister, Mollie Fitzgerald, continue to operate in Pine — Mike teamed up with a guitar-playing colleague to perform again.
“I decided to get more serious, went back and I started taking lessons,” he said. “I won’t say I’m a great bassist, but I’m a solid bassist.”
These days, he plays bass in two of the bands scheduled for Rock Against Cancer, the Hip Waders and Buckingham Prep.
Joining him in the Hip Waders are Bill Goehring on drums, Ben Hoffman on lead guitar and lead vocals, and Anthony Watson on keyboards, guitar and vocals. Fitzgerald said they specialize in songs by the likes of Cream, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Steely Dan and INXS that have some degree of popularity but aren’t covered all that often.
Buckingham Prep features the harmonies of three lead singers, and the third band on the bill, CrazyTahn, rocks harder.
Fitzgerald started Rock Against Cancer in 2021 with the help of a friend, legendary Pittsburgh concert promoter and music producer Rich Engler.
“I just wanted to do something for the center,” Fitzgerald said about Cancer Bridges. “I’ve always been pretty generous donating personally, but I wanted to do an event.”
Dough Daddy might not be Madison Square Garden, the site of Harrison’s 1971 extravaganza. But you’d think George would be proud of Rock Against Cancer.