Toby Keith fans will have a chance to celebrate his legacy at Hometown Jam For Toby, an area-wide event and fundraiser for OK Kids Korral, the late musician’s foundation that helps children and families experiencing cancer.
Ean Kampmeyer, a technician at Tinker Air Force Base and avid Toby Keith fan came up with the idea following Keith’s death last week.
Kampmeyer is currently on active duty, and he said he became a fan of Keith’s because Keith supported military personnel.
“Toby always pulled on my heartstrings. He always was a supporter of people. He was always going out and helping people when they were deployed. What he did for our military community was unreal,” Kampmeyer said.
The event will take place at Mooney’s Pub & Grill, 6221 N. Interstate Drive, and The Landing Zone in Midwest City, 8720 SE 15th St. on Saturday, Feb. 24 at 8 p.m.
Initially, Kampmeyer had just planned for the event to take place at Mooney’s. He had reached out to a couple of band friends and asked if anyone wanted to do a jam night to honor Keith’s legacy and raise money for his foundation.
“The owner of Mooney’s reached back out and said, ‘We’re down.’ We have a patio, and we talked to musicians who wanted to play that night, and they said, ‘100%,'” Kampmeyer said.
Rodney Carothers of the band Ninety Proof has known Toby Keith since they were school children in Moore. To honor his late friend, he will be one of the performers at Mooney’s.
“I don’t remember not knowing Toby. We’ve been lifelong friends. We’ve done business together and played music together,” Carothers said.
By coincidence, Carothers had already signed up to play at Mooney’s on Feb. 24. He said he was approached and asked if he wanted to open the venue to different performers.
Carothers obliged and has since recruited musicians to play around the Oklahoma City Metropolitan Area.
At this point, between 20-30 bands had offered to play. None will be taking in money.
“There’s gunna be way more than that,” Carothers said. “Everybody knows me knows my history with Toby Keith, and the outpouring of support is not just from musicians, but from people wanting to volunteer.”
Carothers said he is encouraging local venues to celebrate Hometown Jam for Toby and give money to OK Kids Korral, whether or not they are on the official agenda.
Kampmeyer said he may still be looking for a couple of venues to hold them for that night.
“They are all donating their time. They will be playing tributes to his songs. We want to remember him and raise money for a good cause,” Kampmeyer said.
The OK Kids Korral, 818 NE Eighth Street in Oklahoma City, offers private suites for families of children with cancer, as well as daytime rooms and other resources to help them stay comfortable during treatment.
The OK Kids Korral responded to The Transcript for this story and said it would withhold comment out of respect for the privacy of Keith’s family and referred readers to its website that reads:
“Getting the right care sometimes means cancer patients must travel away from home, often to a cancer treatment facility in another city. This puts a financial and emotional toll on the families, not to mention the physical toll it takes on their child.”
Kampmeyer said the event is for the community.
“It’s not about making personal money. It’s not about our bars profiting. I have no leg in this,” he said.
Carothers also said he won’t be making money from the event. He said he is doing it to honor Keith for what he has done for the community.
“Back in May of 2013 when the tornado hit the city of Moore, Toby put together and organized the big free concert at OU stadium, and it did a lot to help the city of Moore with raising money and helping them rebuild,” Carothers said. “When we all woke up to the news that he had passed away, the first thing on our minds was ‘Man, we remember him doing something for us, so why not do something for him.”
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