This Thursday, High Dive will host a tribute to Chester Bennington, the lead singer of Linkin Park, who took his own life this past July. The show will be a tragic follow-up to the show they put together to honor the late Chris Cornell.
When Soundgarden lead vocalist Chris Cornell took his life in May, Pat Lavery, exclusive promoter at High Dive, felt he was in a position to organize a tribute show that featured many of Cornell’s songs.
The event reminded Gainesville locals to talk about suicide in order to identify its causes and aid in its prevention. Proceeds from the concert went to Friends of the Crisis Center, a nonprofit organization that raises money for the training of Alachua County Crisis Center volunteers.
When Chester Bennington later took his own life on July 20, Lavery knew what he needed to do.
“I felt a sense of duty to put this thing together and honor someone who gave their life to entertain and move so many people,” Lavery said. “The fact that he left us so tragically is heartbreaking, and for musicians and people in the music industry like myself, it hits close to home.”
Thursday’s show will feature local bands Broken Silence, Seasons and Koup D’e Tat. In addition to performing original songs inspired by Bennington, the groups will perform Linkin Park favorites such as “Forgotten,” “Papercut,” “What I’ve Done,” “Crawling,” “Runaway,” “Numb” and many more.
When Lavery was looking for an organization to team up with for the Cornell event, he found that the Alachua County Crisis Center does the most work for suicide prevention and awareness in the area, in addition to relying on volunteers.
Like the previous tribute concert, High Dive will donate proceeds from the Bennington tribute show to Friends of the Crisis Center. In addition to supporting volunteer training, Friends of the Crisis Center cares for the Survivors of Suicide Memorial Garden at Cofrin Nature Park.
“(The Survivors of Suicide Memorial Garden) is the only memorial garden of its kind in the country,” Lavery said. “And a portion of the $1,392 we raised in July went to purchasing a brick in tribute to Chris Cornell, which was recently installed at the park.
“That show served as both a healing tribute and a way for many people to achieve some closure with Cornell’s death. I hope we can do the same for fans of Chester Bennington.”
Ali Martinez, director of the Alachua County Crisis Center, was grateful to High Dive for opening the door to discussion of mental health.
“We see all the time how hard it is for people to reach out for help because of the stigma that surrounds suicide,” Martinez said. “We do as much training and education in the community as we can to get the word out about the warning signs and to get people more comfortable talking about the issue.
“To see a place like High Dive put this issue front and center, recognizing the impact of the loss of Chester Bennington and identifying suicide prevention as an important cause is very touching and an incredible honor. This benefit will enable us to train more people to be on the hotline and be there for people in the worst moments of their lives.”
Daniela De La Torre, a 21-year-old UF philosophy student, volunteers at the center and will attend Bennington’s tribute as a resource to anyone in need during the concert.
“I attended High Dive’s last tribute concert to support a friend who was performing in honor of Chris Cornell,” De La Torre said. “I remember that one of the first performers of the show gave a really moving speech about what Cornell’s music had meant to him and how much it saddened him that someone so talented had felt so alone to the point where they wanted to end their life. It made my work with the Crisis Center feel that much more important.”
Volunteers and staff from the Crisis Center and other charities will be at the event for anyone in need of assistance. Tickets can be purchased at ticketfly.com and at Hear Again Records for $7 or for $9 at the door. Donations are encouraged.
