Jim Porter's Good Time Emporium to Host Big Band Concert to Benefit MERF

A big band concert to raise funds for the Musician's Emergency Relief Fund (MERF) will be held at Jim Porter's Good Time Emporium, 2345 Lexington Road, Louisville, Ky, on Sunday, June 24, 1990, from 8 p.m. until 10:30 p.m.

Featured vocalists for the concert will be June Kelley Roy and J. T. (Cosmo) Cosden. Many of Louisville's longtime big band musicians will perform in the band, according to Wayne Young, President of MERF.

The concert is part of an effort on the part of MERF to raise money through all the various styles of music. Young noted that when MERF began, it focused on the rock and roll crowd, in part because one of the founders was Marvin Maxwell, a local rock drummer. Maxwell had been injured in an automobile accident and was financially strapped as a result. A benefit to raise money for his medical bills led to the founding of MERF.

MERF has relied on a single annual fundraiser in the fall of each year, but Young notes that the demand on MERF has seriously reduced the available money.

MERF gives one-time grants of up to $1,000 to musicians who are in need. Decisions are made on a case by case basis by the Board of Directors.