Special Veterans Fundraiser Concert Nets Over 180,000 Linden Dollars

 

 

On Monday July 13 last week, there was a special charity concert at Veterans Isle. While the location had another around the first weekend of the month as normal, this was a second one, which seldom occurs. 

 

Like others, the event was organized in part by Frets Nirvana. Unlike most, this event would be scheduled only for two hours, from 6 to 8 SL time. In the first hour, DJ Zack would play music. The second hour was a live performance, with Frets on stage along with Noma Falta with a "dual stream." 

 

The Independence Day eagle, available earlier for a donation for 2500 Lindens, was still there.  Most of the money was donated into two house-shaped kiosks on either side of the stage.

 

A total of 184,462 Linden dollars would be donated into the kiosks. It is unknown how much was raised through the eagles. 

 

Veterans Isle is the scene of a benefit for Homes For Our Troops every month, usually on the first weekend of the month.

 

Bixyl Shuftan 

Independence Day Weekend Veterans Benefit Raises Over 150,000 Lindens

 

On Monday July 6, Veterans Isle was the scene of a fundraiser concert. Organized in part by Frets Nirvana, the event raised money for the Homes For Our Troops charity. The benefit ran from 5 to 8 PM SL time. 

 

Scheduled to perform were DJ Yume at 5 PM, and singers Marod Desade & Grace Loudon at 6 and 7 PM respectively. 

 

There was a Independence Day-themed gift for those who donated 2500 Linden dollars. .  Those who gave that much would get a bald eagle statue dressed in overalls in the pattern of the American flag. 

 

Donations were made into two house shaped kiosks on either side of the stage. A total of 153,753 was raised. 

 

Veterans Isle is the scene of a benefit for Homes For Our Troops every month, usually on the first weekend of the month.

 

Bixyl Shuftan

 

Veterans Fundraiser Nets Over 140,000

 

On Tuesday July 9,  there was a benefit concert high above Veterans Isle. Organized by Frets Nirvana, the event raised money for the Homes For Our Troops charity. The event was scheduled from 5PM to about 8 SL time. Besides DJ Zack, live musicians Max Kleene and Amforte Clarity were scheduled to perform. 

 

A total of 141,235 Linden dollars was donated to the two house-shaped kiosks on stage 

 

Veterans Isle normally has a fundraiser for the charity about once a month, normally on the first weekend of the month, though it wasn't the case this time. The next event, baring any last minute plans for a Veterans Day concert, will be in early July.    

 

Bixyl Shuftan 

 

Star Wars RFL Event At Rockin' Robin

 

On Monday May 4, Rockin' Robin was the scene of a fundraiser concert. The event was advertised as going on all day, and being May the Fourth, the theme was Star Wars.

 

We are dancing on the moon all day today (Monday, May 4th), for 24 hours at an event hosted by Team Bobbi Sue. Dress in anything space-related (Star Wars, Star Trek, astronauts, aliens) or casual. Singers today: Austin Moores at 5 pm, and Wolfie Moonshadow at 6 pm. There are also 10 raffles with some amazing prizes valued up to L$15,000!  

 

Yours truly dropped by when Austin Moores was singing, sporting an Emperor Palpatine avatar, at one point doubting the Star Wars villain probably couldn't sing a note.

 

 Backing up The Emperor Austin were dancers Netera Landar and Talia Sunsong.

 

It's not yet known to the Newser how much was raised by Team Bobby Sue, but at the end of the set, the total on both kiosks on the stage was close to a hundred thousand Linden dollars. Much had also been raised in the motorcycle and other prize raffles. 

 

 May the Fourth Be With You,

 

Bixyl Shuftan (with two pictures from Netera)

Update: The Newser was informed the event raised a total of L$479,446 , or  US$1980

Reader Submitted: Anzac Day Veterans Concert

 

As real-life news centers around the Strait of Hormuz, in 1915 attention was on another straits, the Strait of Gallipoli, also known as the Dardanelles. The Western Allies in World War One wanted to capture it as control of the waterway would better allow them to send supplies to their ally Russia. And on April 25, thousands of Australian and New Zealand soldiers, the Anzac Corps, stormed the shores. But the defenders were well dug in, and the result was a battle that lasted for months and resulted in the Anzac Corps suffering over ten thousand dead before the order was given to retreat. Considered Australia and New Zealand's "baptism by fire," April 25 would later be made Anzac Day, which commemorates the Australian and New Zeeland soldiers who died in the campaign and all servicemen and women of both countries who died in all wars and conflicts. Here in Second Life, there was an Anzac Day event, a fundraiser concert to raise money for veterans. Among those attending were Charlotte Williams, who would send the Newser an article. 

 

Read Charlotte's reader submission in Events.  

 

Burnal Equinox And Other Happenings This Weekend

 

 It was quite a weekend. The Burn2 Burnal Equinox, "Below the Surface", took place from Friday April 17 to Sunday April 19 (above). On Saturday April 18 was Caledon's "Battle of Wits." The Safe Waters Foundation and the Second Life Cheerleeding Squad got together for a fundraiser on Sunday April 19 of which singer Wolfie Starfire took part. The RFL Car and Bike Show held some auctions Saturday and Sunday April 18 and 19. The RFL Divas Festival took place from Friday April 17 to Sunday April 19. The Antiquity community would hold a memorial service on Sunday April 19 for Arch Duchess Lydia Cortes de Bexar who passed away on the date a year ago. 

 

More on these events later. 

 

No HFOT Concert At Veterans Isle This Month

 

Frets Nirvana informed the Newser due to complications, there will sadly be no benefit concert for Homes For Our Troops this April. Things should be back on track for May, though. 

RFL Announcement: Relaystock 2026 - The Last Dance

 

 Get Ready For RelayStock© – One More Time

On April 10-12 the Relay Rockers will host the 13th annual gathering of the teams at
RelayStock ©  (Annual Multi Team Fundraising event)  

The team, which was founded in 2005 and has participated in every Relay For Life in Second Life has decided that 2026 will be the final RelayStock©.  The team itself will retire from active relaying after this season.

The Rockers are dedicating their final season to long-time member Madelyn Majestic, who is currently undergoing treatment for Breast Cancer.  Mady was diagnosed late last year after being reminded to get her exam by the Making Strides campaign.  “Never doubt what you do here is important.”  Mady stated, “Making Strides prompted me to schedule my exam that found the  cancer. With all the knowledge I gained from all of you and the ACS website, I knew what questions to ask and what to expect. As I go through this journey, I’m so immensely grateful to all of you and everything you’ve done to help fight back against cancer.”

In addition to RelayStock the team is currently planning to hold Bid The Lindens Bald©, its annual collaboration with Linden Lab, on Wednesday, April 15th.  This event, the 10th annual iteration of the popular fund raiser, will also be the last one.

Registration for  RelayStock ©– The Last Dance opens March 2d.  Space is limited and allocated on a first come first serve basis.

Info at: www.relayrockers.org

Team: Relay Rockers

SLURL: TBD 

"Syndicats" At The River For Fundraiser Concert

 

 

Easter Sunday, April 5, was a little quieter in Second Life as some people had real life events to attend to. But there were still some, such as a performance by the Dinkie band "Syndicats" at The River, with donations to the Relay for Life accepted instead of tips. 

 

The River has gone WILD! Come join us for this feralfest! First up, it's the return of the SYNDICATS! Those crazy dinkies are swarming The River Rock Club for a tribute to the GORILLAZ! Then, at 5slt the culmination of our Bid me Feral and Bid me Bald Auctions. Our bidding auctions GO LIVE and it's not too late to lose that hair or get bid FERAL in the spirit of Wild for a Cure! 

 

The event went from 2 to 4PM SL time, with about 14,000 Linden dollars raised for teams Sugar Skols and Hope Floaters. 

 

Bixyl Shuftan 

 

A Busy Weekend

 

Quite a bit happened over the weekend. There was the Relay for Life's official season Kickoff (above).  There were also several other Relay events, such as the Battle of the DJs hosted by the Sugar Skols. There was the monthly HFOT benefit concert at Veterans Isle. There was the grand opening of the Black History Month exhibition at the PBC. There was the opening of Cafe Lilardo, and more. 

 

Read more about these events as we have time to write about them.  

 

Bixyl Shuftan

 

Nuvolino At Inspire Space Park

 

One place in Second Life that is "must see" would be Inspire Space Park. This "cosmic sci-fi natural outer space galaxy built by talented SL artists," was stunningly beautiful when it first appeared in 2007, and since then has continued to wow and delight visitors. Besides it's scenery, performers sometimes have events there. Netera Landar was recently there to see a performance by a musician named Nuvolino. So what was it like?

 

See Netera's article and pictures in Events. 

 

74,000 Linden Dollars Raised at Veterans Benefit

 

On Sunday December 7, Pearl Harbor Day, the monthly benefit concert at Veterans Isle took place. Organized in part by Frets Nirvana, the event raised money for the Homes For Our Troops charity. 

 

The music was scheduled to start at 10AM with DJ Zack.  Then Quarts at 11 AM. At Noon SL time would come performer Paul Kindhartdman. I dropped in the middle of the 1 PM performance with Ed Lowell and Mr. Multiwriter (Mrmulti Writer). As the musicians played, people donated Lindens to two house-shaped kiosks on the left and right sides of the stage.

 

Frets Nirvana was there, encouraging the people to give a little more,  

"Folks ...We have been supporting HFOT in Second Life now for 11 years ...and through the support of folks like all of you we have sent donations on average of $15000 a year to HFOT. ... HFOT Veterans are gifted this home mortgage free!  They are responsible for upkeep and taxes.   - Sad Fact- Only 16 states in the country are tax exempt for severely injured Veterans.{this truly needs to change to all 50 states supporting our vets, dontcha think?}"

 

The event would raise a total of 74,000 Linden dollars (34,000 in one kiosk, 40,000 in the other). 

 

To learn more about Homes for Our Troops, check https://www.hfotusa.org .

 

Bixyl Shuftan

 

Announcement: Musician Grace Loudon at The CVL Library

 

CVL Marly Milena Music Library presents....

Musician Grace Loudon

Sat Aug 9th at NOON SLT

Where:  http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Inspiration%20Bay/20/91/23

This month's MOTM concert is part of the 2025 VWMOOC (Virtual Worlds Massive Online Open Course) Conference, and features the wonderful Grace Loudon, winner of this year's Viral Voice award in Second Life!  Grace is an award winning musician, singer & songwriter who plays piano, guitar and offers a voice that can be gritty and dark or light and pretty.  She has an impressive vocal range and unique style that allows her to perform a mix of originals and covers with skill and talent that comes through in every song.

Although this is being held on the second Saturday of the month, Musician of the Month events are normally on the fourth Saturday of each month, and we will resume that schedule beginning in September. 

Contact Francisco Koolhoven or Valibrarian Gregg

 

Press Release: HFOT July 2025 Benefit

 

Frets Nirvana, longtime supporter and contact for Homes For Our Troops in Second Life in conjunction with the US Military Veterans Group, announces the July 2025 Homes for Our Troops benefit in Second Life.   The benefit will be held on July 8  from 4-8 PM SLT.

Frets Nirvana states:  “HFOT is a privately funded 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization building specially adapted, mortgage-free homes nationwide for the most severely injured Veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan. Most of these Veterans are multiple amputees, paraplegic, quadriplegic or have suffered severe traumatic brain injury (TBI).  Since its inception in 2004, nearly 90 cents of every dollar spent by Homes for Our Troop has gone to directly support Veterans. DURING THAT TIME HFOT HAS BUILT 413 SPECIALLY ADAPTED HOMES NATIONWIDE FOR EXTREMELY INJURED VETERANS.” 

This HFOT benefit concert will feature the following DJ’s and artists from 12PM -4 PM on July 8:

DJ Zack 4 PM

Anj Gustafson 5 PM

Frets Nirvana 6 PM

Austin Moores 7 PM

Sponsored by Frets Nirvana and the U.S. Military Veteran’s Group of Second Life.  To learn more about Homes for Our Troops visit https://www.hfotusa.org

Anj Gustafson 5 PM http://162.244.80.31:9566

Frets Nirvana 6 PM  http://cp5.digistream.info:11420/stream

Austin Moores 7 PM  http://142.44.159.230:15082

Bay City Anniversary Parade and Music Concert

 

 

Yesterday, Sunday May 18, the 17th Annual Bay City Parade and Concert took place. The event is to celebrate the founding of Second Life's largest urban area. Yours truly missed the front part with Marianne McCann taking the lead, but I caught the second half.

 

 It went well aside from the drawbridge near the end suddenly going up. A couple people got dunked from the mishap.

 

 

Following the parade was the music concert at the Bay City Fairgrounds, with DJ GoSpeed Racer spinning the music, followed by Aubryn Melody.

 

 

People danced away, with one guy floating. And there was a conga line.

 

Happy Anniversary Bay City

 

Bixyl Shuftan

 

Ongoing Relay Event: Freedom Rock Concert

 

On Monday March 3, yours truly stopped by the Freedom Rock concert, a two week event organized by the Relay for Life team Camping for A Cure. At 3PM, Marina Sharpshire was on the stage singing. 

As she sang, people cheered each other on, encouraging more donations, and even buying others raffle tickets, "Here let me buy a few tickets for others!" "Marina is so amazing." "Teach someone new about relay and how great it is." "I wonder if i give 100 how long it would take for us to get to 14000?" "ALL ABOARDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD!!" "What a relief for a person fighting cancer and their family to not have to worry about where to stay while getting treatment." "One Team!!!"

As of now, Camping for A Cure has over 830,000 Lindens raised, third among the teams. 

Freedom Rock goes on to Sunday March 16.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/American%20Cancer%20Society3/95/202/3009

Bixyl Shuftan

 

Memorial Concert for Solana Python

 

 

 On Friday February 28, there was a memorial concert for Solana Python. She was an artist in real-life and brought her art to Second Life as well, in addition to being a live music promoter for musicians such as Bat Masters. The event was organized by Tuna Oddfellow and hosted by Wytchwhisper Sadofsky, and took place in the Elibia sim. 

 

 The Second Life music and creative community lost a cherished soul earlier this year. Solana Python, a talented artist and vibrant presence, passed away in January. In her memory, Wytchwhisper Sadofsky is hosting a special celebration of life and music—a full day of performances dedicated to Solana and the joy she brought to so many.

 

This event is more than a tribute—it’s a reminder that in Second Life, love, art, and friendship endure beyond time. Whether you knew Solana personally or were touched by her work and energy, we invite you to come together in her memory. Let’s celebrate the magic she left behind.

 

The event ran from 12 Noon to about 11PM SL time. The musicians were Tsunamijimbunn, Wytchwhisper Sadofsky, Zelator Baphomet, Snow Ogre, Dennis Mac Namara, Kris Electricteeth, Larree Quixote, Guitarhero Dougall, Velvet Quandry, LX, and Tuna Oddfellow himself. I dropped by at just after 3PM when Tuna was playing, with his avatar sporting a fishlike head, possibly humoring his real-life magician's stage name "Fish the Magish."

 

"It's never about how much time we have, It's what we choose to do with the 86,400 seconds we are given each day."

Bixyl Shuftan

Press Release: Homes For Our Troops Benefit Concert March 3 At Veteran Isle

 

 Frets Nirvana, longtime supporter and contact for Homes For Our Troops in Second Life in conjunction with the US Military Veterans Group, announces the March 2024 benefit for the Veterans Support Organization Home For Our Troops at Veteran’s Isle .

Frets Nirvana states:  “HFOT is a privately funded 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization building specially adapted, mortgage-free homes nationwide for the most severely injured Veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan. Most of these Veterans are multiple amputees, paraplegic, quadriplegic or suffered severe traumatic brain injury (TBI).  Since its inception in 2004, nearly 90 cents of every dollar spent by Homes for Our Troop has gone to directly support Veterans. DURING THAT TIME HFOT HAS BUILT 374 SPECIALLY ADAPTED HOMES NATIONWIDE FOR EXTREMELY INJURED VETERANS.”

Home for Our Troops benefit concerts feature premier Second Life talent monthly at Veteran’s Isle. The March 3, 2024 concert is scheduled from 4-9 pm PST.  Featured artists will be DJ Zack Friller and performers Chapman Zane, Frets Nirvana,  and Varda.

Sponsored by Frets Nirvana and the U.S. Military Veteran’s Group of Second Life.  To learn more about Homes for Our Troops visit https://www.hfotusa.org

Press Release: HFOT February 2024 Benefit Concert

 

Frets Nirvana, longtime supporter and contact for Homes For Our Troops in Second Life in conjunction with the US Military Veterans Group, announces the February 2024  benefit for the Veterans Support Organization Home For Our Troops at Veteran’s Isle .

Frets Nirvana states:  “HFOT is a privately funded 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization building specially adapted, mortgage-free homes nationwide for the most severely injured Veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan. Most of these Veterans are multiple amputees, paraplegic, quadriplegic or suffered severe traumatic brain injury (TBI).  Since its inception in 2004, nearly 90 cents of every dollar spent by Homes for Our Troop has gone to directly support Veterans. DURING THAT TIME HFOT HAS BUILT 373 SPECIALLY ADAPTED HOMES NATIONWIDE FOR EXTREMELY INJURED VETERANS.”

Home for Our Troops benefit concerts feature premier Second Life talent monthly at Veteran’s Isle. The February 7, 2024 concert is scheduled from 48 pm PST.  Featured artists will be DJ Zack Friller and performers Neomaximus Brandenberg, Franklee Anatra and Austin Moores.

Sponsored by Frets Nirvana and the U.S. Military Veteran’s Group of Second Life.  To learn more about Homes for Our Troops visit https://www.hfotusa.org

 

Over 230,000 L Raised at Two Veterans Isle Fundraisers

 

 On Wednesday December 6, Veterans Isle held a fundraiser concert for the Homes For Our Troops charity. The event, which ran from 4 to 9 PM SL time and had a DJ and four live musicians raised a total of 131,900 in the two kiosks on either side of the stage. But that wasn't all. A few days later, Frets Nirvana, one of the organizers of the event, would hold another in which he himself went on stage.

 

Hello to all my Second Life friends

I will once again climb the stage in Second Life today December 10 @ 2 PM for one last push for donations for Homes For Our Troops at Veterans Isle.  In this week that we have remembered December 7 as the day that the U.S. entered WWII, come on out nd help today's heroes who have sacrificed just as their brothers did 82 years ago. 

Frets' Sunday concert would bring in exactly 100,000 Linden dollars, fifty thousand in each kiosk. This made for a total of 231,900 L. Almost a quarter million Linden dollars to help veterans keep roofs over their heads. 

To learn more about Homes for Our Troops visit https://www.hfotusa.org