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TCAN Virtual Gala 2020 featuring LORI McKENNA with special guest MARK ERELLI.
TCAN’s Annual Benefit has traditionally been a celebration of the positive impact that the arts have on our community. Proceeds from the benefit support TCAN's artistic programming as well as its community outreach initiatives. This year, in these most difficult times, our Annual Benefit fundraiser went virtual with a FREE online event featuring Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Lori McKenna, with special guest Mark Erelli, performing in concert on TCAN's stage. During this national health crisis, support for TCAN has never been more crucial. Your sponsorship and donations will make it possible to sustain the organization until it is safe to reopen once again.
THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS AND DONORS
Signature Sponsor
Gold Sponsor
Silver Sponsor
2020 Business and Individual Sponsors
Signature Sponsor | Atlantic Vision, Inc. |
Challenge Sponsor | Elaine Burns and Jack Memishian |
Presenting Sponsor | |
Gold Sponsor | Michael and Barbara Collins |
Henry and Dr. Kate Faulkner | |
Alice F. Greif | |
LaborSoft | |
Middlesex Savings Bank | |
Silver Sponsor | Anonymous in honor of: |
Stephen and Maschia Kaplan | |
Jane and Bill Bachman | |
Rick and Nancy Jennett | |
Stephen and Maschia Kaplan | |
Karen and Reginald Leese | |
Needham Bank | |
Glenn Shambroom and Nina Righter | |
Stonegate Group, LLC | |
The William M Collins Co. | |
Antonio Viva and Maria Freda | |
Steve and Denise Wilson | |
Bronze Sponsor | The Allain + Warren Group |
Bob Brack and Janet Bailey | |
Eastern Bank Charitable Foundation | |
Tom and Kelley Halchuk | |
Frank and Melissa Hanenberger | |
Mary and Ed Hudson | |
MutualOne Bank | |
Natick Mills | |
Mysore and Judy Ravindra | |
The Red Elm Tree Foundation | |
Bill and Kathy Rousseau | |
Noni and Bob Stearns | |
Edward and Sheila Strickland | |
Walnut Hill School for the Arts | |
Cast Member | Anonymous |
Ricky and Jay Ball | |
Denise and Michael Barry | |
Bob Caplin and Eileen Weber | |
Jay Caraviello and Tammy Falvey | |
Carol and Ken Conway | |
Doug and Sue Crossley | |
Ed Daly and Karen Lieberman-Daly | |
David Davenport and Nolly Corley | |
Susan and Ed Doherty | |
Frances Elovitz | |
Bruce and Terri Evans | |
Steven and Renee Finn | |
Terri Loewenthal and Dr. Michael Fisher | |
Kenneth Fishman and Lisa Wendell | |
Ellen and Kal Heller | |
Jim, Beth and Kate Holman | |
Joseph and Janet Idzal | |
Susan Jarvi | |
Scott and Paula Koehler | |
The Kroo Family | |
Fred and Beth Lane | |
Anne Lindsay and Dr. David Schwarz | |
Mike and Peggy McAuliffe | |
Karen and Michael McGreal | |
Peter Townsend and Hilary McGregor | |
Janet and Bob Mendelsohn | |
Shirley and David Parish | |
Nick and Martha Perakis | |
Gloria Rose | |
Rotary Club of Natick | |
Anne Lindsay and David Schwarz | |
Amy and Matthew Siegel | |
Barbara Anne Sousa | |
Jan Phlegar and Bob Vierling | |
Fred and Susan Wright |
Lori was raised in a Boston family of six children. She met her husband Gene in third grade. They have five kids. Performing in the Boston singer-songwriter circuit in the late 1990's through 2004, she appeared frequently at local venues including the Vienna Kaffeehaus in Westborough, Passim in Cambridge and The Center for Arts in Natick.
Over the last three decades, as she became a wife and mother, she also emerged as one of the most respected, prolific singer-songwriters in popular music. Her 2016 release The Bird and the Rifle netted three Grammy nominations, along with Americana Music Association nods––all firsts for McKenna as an artist. Then, she made history: In 2016, she became the first woman ever to win the Country Music Association’s Song of the Year two years in a row thanks to co-writing Little Big Town’s “Girl Crush” and penning Tim McGraw’s No. 1 single “Humble and Kind.” Both songs also clinched back-to-back Grammy wins for Best Country Song. In 2017, she became the Academy of Country Music’s first female Songwriter of the Year. The list of stars who have recorded McKenna gems continues to grow: Reba, Alison Krauss, Faith Hill, Keith Urban, Sara Bareilles, Carrie Underwood, and many others.
Lori McKenna released her eleventh studio album The Balladeer on July 24, 2020, through CN Records and distributed by Thirty Tigers of Nashville, Tennessee. It was preceded by the release of the lead single "When You're My Age" on May 1, 2020.