For those of us on social media, not a day goes by without seeing a health-related crowdfunding request or an invitation to a benefit for friends and families devastated by cancer and other life-threatening illnesses.  On Sunday afternoon, March 13, we have a chance to take the fight to the source.

Give Cancer the Boot is a fundraiser for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, one of the most respected organizations in the race to the cure for blood-related cancers. The organization directly funds much of the world’s most promising research, resulting in breakthrough treatments and drugs that have helped tens of thousands recover fully and live the rest of their lives cancer-free.

The organization’s mission also includes providing direct financial support to patients and families throughout the course of diagnosis and treatment. This can range from copays and drug subsidies, to transportation, housing, and other support that reduces financial stress while patients focus on their health.

The March 13 event is part of the fundraising effort that Shelley Layton (wife of CBA member and musician Rich Layton) is doing to participate in her FIRST marathon (that’s 26 miles!) as a member of Team in Training®, the nationwide fundraising army of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. The TNT program brings together thousands of everyday heroes who commit to raise money while they train to run half and full marathon races around the country. On the race day, the runners’ T-shirts carry the names of leukemia patients whose inspiration helps every runner to make it to the finish line.

Produced by Cherie’s Blues Highway, Give Cancer the Boot features an all star lineup including Kevin Selfe, Ben Rice, Sister Mercy, Michael Osborn, rocker Mike Branch and, of course, Rich Layton & The Troublemakers. Also making a pit stop that afternoon will be The Randy McAllister Band, on tour all the way from the Lone Star State. The requested donation is $10 at the door. There will also be some cool silent auction items. Don’t miss this Kick-A$$ Party to Kick Cancer’s A$$!!  Sunday, March 13, 1:00 -5:00 pm, at The Trail’s End Saloon, 1320 Main Street, Oregon City.

If Mark Twain had envisioned a twenty-first century roots musician, he might have created a character like Randy McAllister. With his easy-going persona and wry, observant wit, McAllister’s music calls to mind that of Doug Sahm, John Hiatt, and Delbert McClinton, with a blues man’s background and sensibilities thrown into the mix. McAllister weaves material in the singer/songwriter tradition, with nods to a variety of styles. He is one of those rare artists who is able to meld genres such as gospel, blues, country, Tex-Mex, rock, and zydeco together and come away with something that is uniquely him. In performance, his songs combine an uncontainable energy and intensity with lyrics that dig into the tough topics. From urban violence, homelessness and other harsh realities to more common concerns like love and dating, McAllister’s songwriting approach is particularly skillful, able to be both truthful and funny.

McAllister takes universal feelings and translates them into today’s reality, with his own pointed style expressed through his distinctive, soulful voice.

With ten critically praised albums and a 2002 Grammy nomination under his belt, Texas-based harmonica player and songwriter Randy McAllister will be appearing at The Birk, 11139 Hwy 202, Birkenfeld, on Tuesday, March 15 for a 7:00 pm show. Admission is $15.00.

Also, don’t miss catch Randy McAllister as part of the Give Cancer The Boot Benefit Concert on Sunday, March 13 beginning at 1:00 pm at The Trails End Saloon, 1320 Main Street, Oregon City. Suggested donation of $10.00.

Southern blues-rocker Tinsley Ellis may speak no evil, but he sings and plays with the conviction of, as Billboard wrote, “…a man possessed.” Over the course of eleven albums and thousands of live performances, Ellis easily ranks as one of today’s most electrifying blues-rock guitarists and vocalists. He approaches his music with rock power and blues feeling, in the same tradition as his southern musical heroes Duane Allman and Freddie King and his old friends Derek Trucks and Warren Haynes. Atlanta Magazine declared Ellis “the most significant blues artist to emerge from Atlanta since Blind Willie McTell.”

Touring is support of his most recent recording, Tough Love, that has been awarded the best rock blues album of 2015 by Blues Blast and has received a Blues Music Award nomination, Ellis will be bringing his exhilarating live show to Dante’s on Friday, March 18. Tickets are available through TicketWeb.com for $15.00. Dante’s is located at 350 W Burnside. Show time is 9:00 pm. 21 and over only.

She was one of the most extraordinary artists of the twentieth century, an icon of American music. She was the consummate musical storyteller, a griot, as she would come to learn, who used her remarkable talent to create a legacy of liberation, empowerment, passion, and love through a magnificent body of works that crossed over various genres including jazz, soul, gospel and the blues. She earned the moniker ‘High Priestess of Soul’ for she could weave a spell so seductive and hypnotic that the listener lost track of time and space as they became absorbed in the moment. She was who the world would come to know as Nina Simone.

On March 19, Portland’s The Adrian Martin Sextet featuring powerhouse vocalist LaRhonda Steele will present a tribute to the late Nina Simone, “I Put A Spell On You,” at the Alberta Rose Theatre, 3000 NE Alberta Street. Guitarist Adrian Martin has performed with a variety of Portland-based blues and jazz artists as well as working on stages across the country. Joining Martin and Steele will be bassist Leah Hinchliff, drummer Mike Snyder, saxophonist Pete Petersen, and keyboardist Mark Steele.

Showtime for this tribute concert is 8:00 pm and it is open to all ages with minors under twenty-one being accompanied by a parent or legal guardian. Tickets can be purchased through AlbertaRoseTheatre.com for $20.00 advance or $24.00 at the door day of show.