Events

Giving Rocks 2019 is back and bigger than ever. Kick off your weekend with music that’s not only good for the soul but benefits a worthwhile cause. Giving Rocks 2019 prides itself on great music, homemade Italian food and drinks. However, the night is mostly about raising money for pediatric cancer research.

We’re excited to feature an amazing lineup of musical talent:

Louie Zagoras is the founder, lead singer/lead Guitarist and primary Songwriter for the band ROLLOVER. Louie and ROLLOVER toured the States back and fourth in the 90’s when ROLLOVER’s first record broke on Chicago’s 93.1 WXRT FM radio. Louie’s song “Shipwreck” was the break-out single. He lets his music speak for itself and he loves the music of Clapton, The Allmans, Hendrix, George Harrison, Tom Petty and other Classic Bands/Artists. His sound is described as “Roots Rock meets the Blues”. Louie was the first Chicago Rock Artist ever to be signed by the Legendary Bill Graham Managment (Santana, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Neville Brothers, Joe Satriani etc…).

Over the years Louie and ROLLOVER has Supported and toured with top Rock acts like The Allman Brothers, Joe Satriani, Sheryl Crow, Dave Mason, The Neville Brothers, Blues Traveler, John Hiatt, Hot Tuna, Johnny Winter, Jimmie Vaughan, Buddy Guy, Robin Trower, The Atlanta Rhythm Section, Foghat, Buddy Miles, Los Lobos, Savoy Brown, Dick Dale, Big Head Todd, Gatemouth Brown, Eddie Money, Sonny Landereth, Lucinda Williams and many others. In 1995 Louie’s song “Shipwreck” was featured on A&M Records “H.o.r.d.e CD Sampler”. They were constantly on the road, sometimes spending months traveling from L.A to New York and back again. This gave the band a chance to really develop their sound and tighten up their already exciting live shows. Rollover did many tour dates supporting Guitarist Joe Satriani and even went along with Joe to the U.K for a month of sold out shows in 1996. Upon returning to the states the band did two more sold out nights with Joe and the famous Fillmore in San Francisco.

Louie’s songs have been used for TV shows ( The Rachael Ray Show, Nash Bridges, Arron Spelling Productions etc…) and Movies (Lost and Confused) For the last 20 years he has been writing songs with Roy Marinell. Roy Co- wrote Werewolves of London, Excitable Boy, and other hits with the late Great Warren Zevon. Roy also recently co-wrote the Kid Rock smash hit “All summer long” as well. Louie is also a Producer, Recording Engineer and Session Musician. He produced all of the ROLLOVER CD’s as well as the new ” Twenty Fingers” solo CD. He has also produced many other artists. Louie is a multi-instrumentalist who plays Drums, Sitar, Bass, Harmonica, Piano, Hammond B-3, Pedal steel Guitar, Mandolin, Ukele, Percussion and many other instruments. After 3 Nationally distributed CD’s and countless tours with ROLLOVER, Louie recently released his first solo CD.The new CD “Twenty Fingers” is out!!!!! Produced by Louie and The Herron Brothers, it features top Chicago musicians Jay Davenport on Drums, Ed Stevenson keyboards and former Black Crowes / Jimmy Page bassist Greg Rzab.

Mark Wehner is singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose desire to be a musician was born at age 6, when his older brother played him Bohemian Rhapsody for the first time. Currently a Junior at Highland Park High School, Mark sings in Chorale, Madrigals and Swing Choir and plays piano in the HPHS Jazz Band. He also performs outside of school as a solo artist and with other North Shore musicians. Mark is a huge fan of the Martin Family and has been a proud participant in Giving Rocks since his first appearance in 2017.

Sophie Varonies, Noa Dayan and Kathryn Handler (a.k.a. SNK) realized their three voices blended beautifully during Freshmen Choir at Highland Park High and have been singing acapella pop ever since. Sophie has a passion for musical theater that started at a very young age. She has performed in many local musical productions and choirs. Noa grew up in a musical family and was exposed to music and theater early on. Noa also taught herself to play piano and has been in several musical productions. Kathryn has been playing piano since she was 6, and picked up the guitar last summer. She enjoys music theory and songwriting, and found that playing musical instruments has strengthened her singing prowess.

Saige Chaseley is a singer, actress and competitive figure skater. After playing piano and violin for seven years, Saige is currently focusing on voice and has recently performed in the musical, Matilda, at Drury Lane Theatre and in the Children’s Ensemble of Into the Woods at the Writers Theatre. She’s delighted and honored to be performing at Giving Rocks to help raise money for pediatric cancer research.

Carole Dibo is the Founder and Executive Director of the nationally known Actors Training Center in Wilmette. Carole is also the managing partner of Carole Dibo Talent Management a boutique talent talent management firm.  Carole coaches actors of all ages for film, television and theatre auditions and has been instrumental in launching the careers of many actors.

Giving Rocks Foundation is a 501c3 non-profit that was created in 2012 from the love and support that resulted from now 21-year old Syd Martin’s personal battle with LCH, a little known, potentially fatal disease impacting 1 in 200,000 children primarily under the age of 10. The Wilmette-based foundation delivers on their mission through merchandise sales, participation in events such as Lollapalooza and Wanderlust, and using their branded rock necklaces to build excitement, educate communities and raise funds to find a cure for LCH and pediatric cancer. To date, Giving Rocks Foundation has raised more than $850,000 to date.