Soul Fest to benefit Lazarex Cancer Foundation
Rarely can music be more beneficial than at the Las Vegas Soul Festival.
Proceeds from the event will benefit the Lazarex Cancer Foundation, a California-based nonprofit organization that provides financial support for end-stage cancer patients going through clinical trials.
The concert is scheduled for 7 p.m. Saturday at The Orleans Arena, 4500 W. Tropicana Ave. Doors are set to open at 6 p.m.
Featured R&B, funk and soul artists include Jagged Edge, Lenny Williams, Next, the Bar-Kays, the Dazz Band, Con Funk Shun, Phil Perry and Zapp. Concert promoter Jimmy Smith said the event will feature collaborations of up to four groups playing together by the end of the night.
The Lazarex Cancer Foundation's mission statement is: "To provide resources for cancer patients who've been told they have no other options, but who are not yet done with their journey in life and refuse to give up now." The foundation's president, Dana Dornsife, created Lazarex in 2006 after losing a family member to pancreatic cancer.
"You're at a crossroads," Dornsife said. "You can choose hospice or the clinical trial route."
While many pharmaceutical companies cover the medical expenses of clinical trials, paying for travel and living expenses usually falls on the patient. Dornsife said she does not want patients to be deterred from "taking advantage of some of the breakthroughs out there" because of money.
Smith is the president and CEO of CAA International, the entertainment production management company organizing the festival. He, too, lost a family member to cancer. He met Dornsife two years ago through a mutual friend.
"When I heard what (the Lazarex Cancer Foundation) was doing I jumped on board full force," he said. "Who wouldn't want to be a part of something great for a worthy cause?"
Smith and Dornsife said they also want to educate minorities about cancer.
"There's a pretty gross disparity for mortality between white people and minorities with cancer," Dornsife said. "Minority populations are usually getting diagnosed in stages three and four instead of stages one and two when the prognosis is better."
Dornsife also said the foundation is trying to increase participation of minorities in clinical trials. Clinical trial participants are predominantly white, she said.
"We want to make the population of people participating in clinical trials mirror the actual population," Dornsife said. "Genetics has a lot to bear on the way a drug will work on a particular person."
The festival also is offering a college scholarship for high school seniors. An application can be downloaded on the festival's website, lasvegassoulfestival.com.
Smith said he hopes this inaugural event can become an annual tradition, spanning for days at a time. He envisions "a mega-festival of all genres of music" that could rival those in New Orleans.
Tickets for the Las Vegas Soul Festival are available for $42 to $75 at lasvegas
soulfestival.com, at The Orleans Arena box office or by calling 284-7777.
For more information about the Lazarex Cancer Foundation, visit lazarex.org.
Contact View education reporter Jeff Mosier at jmosier@viewnews.com or 224-5524.
