Join The Celebration Of Waylon Jennings And His Nationwide Birthday Bash! Country music artists Keith Urban, Kris Kristofferson, Billy Ray Cyrus and Jamey Johnson urge millions of Waylon Jennings fans to come together this summer for a nationwide series of Waylon Birthday Bashes, funding diabetes research at TGen. Urban, Kristofferson, Cyrus and Johnson are among the members of the new National Honorary Committee for The Waylon Fund for Diabetes Research. All contributions to the fund go to the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen), one of the nation’s premier non-profit biomedical research institutes. The fund helps TGen to quickly translate laboratory discoveries into new ways to diagnose and treat diabetes, which affects nearly 26 million Americans. Waylon’s “kicking down the doors” style of music will infuse the events, which feature regional and national acts, including: Shooter Jennings, Tommy Jennings, and the Rowdy Johnson Band. In a suburb of Phoenix, the headquarters of TGen, a Waylon Birthday Bash is planned June 17 at the Yucca Tap Room in Tempe. This bash features “DJ Dana” Armstrong, founder of Valley Fever Country Night, and several local live-music acts: Ray Lawrence Jr., Tony Martinez, James Parks, Steve Larson and Hans Olson. Also appearing from Nashville is J.P. Harris and The Tough Choices. “We have a built-in Waylon fan base here who are happy to support a progressive diabetes research fund in his name. We have held Waylon tribute nights in the past, and if we can raise awareness and some funds for TGen in this way, I know we will have a good time doing it,” Armstrong said. The dates and locations of Waylon Birthday Bashes are: June 8-10 — A three-day Honky Tonk Throwdown at PJ’s Lager House in Detroit. June 15 — The Wayland in New York; Firehouse Saloon in Houston; and High Dive in Seattle. June 15-16 — A two-day event, featuring Waylon’s son Shooter Jennings, is set for a festival in Whiteface, Texas, (near Waylon’s his hometown of Littlefield). June 17 — Richie Albright, Waylon’s long-time drummer and co-producer, and Waymore’s Outlaws at Robert’s Western World in Nashville; and Valley Fever Country Night at the Yucca Tap Room in Tempe. Birthday bashes will be promoted by Waylon Fund Partners — which includes Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI), Music News Nashville (MNN), Sony Music, Universal Music Publishing Group, Country Music Nation (CMN), and the Ernest Tubb Records Shops — with messages expected to reach more than 1 million Waylon fans. Waylon Birthday Bashes originated from everyday Waylon fans who loved his music and his “Outlaw” genre, which challenged the Nashville establishment, spearheaded crossover appeal and re-popularized country music. In the same spirit as the “Outlaw” movement, The Waylon Fund enables TGen scientists to challenge conventional ideas and discover novel ways of attacking diabetes. Working with Waylon’s widow, Jessi Colter, and their son, Shooter Jennings, TGen established The Waylon Fund in October 2011. Waylon, who lived much of his storied career in Arizona, died in 2002 at age 64 from complications of diabetes. He Continue reading Waylon Jennings Birthday Bash→
