A group of Northern Virginia residents who bonded through their shared love of live music now hopes to translate that passion into support for a worthy cause — and a memorable goodbye for a local band.
NoVA Live Music Mingle will host its first-ever fundraiser tonight (Thursday) at Jimmy’s Old Town Tavern (697 Spring Street) in Herndon to benefit the music education program StudioRock of Northern Virginia.
Set to start at 6 p.m., the “Music for a Cause” event will also serve as a farewell concert for the Maryland-based band Point of Rock, which recently announced that it will be disbanding. With two members preparing to move and another retiring, the rock group says the departures will make it “too challenging to continue delivering the quality you’ve come to expect from us night in and night out.”
“On a happier note, we have truly enjoyed playing for all of you these past eight years across the DMV and West Virginia,” Point of Rock said in a message on its website. “All of us current members will be leaving the band with fond memories of our time together and playing ‘music the way you remember it.'”
Originally named That ’70s Band, Point of Rock was established by guitarist Mike Jensen and drummer John Saum, veterans of the music scene in Frederick, Maryland, who wanted to deliver a blast of nostalgia to area audiences by covering classic 1970s rock songs.
The band subsequently added new members, including lead singer Peter Hugick, guitarist and vocalist Phil Lazo, bassist Danny Rucker and keyboard player Ken Durr with Doug Tepper taking over as the drummer in 2023. Its repertoire has also expanded over the years to include music from the 1980s, ’90s and 2000s.
However, the band remained dedicated to performing the music of artists from The Eagles and the Rolling Stones to Pat Benatar and Fall Out Boy with “passion and energy, harmonies, crunching guitars, and all that attitude,” according to its website. It won the fan favorite award at Frederick’s 2023 Battle of the Bands contest.
In its farewell announcement, Point of Rock’s members thanked audiences and their families for their support, encouraging fans to join them for their final concert at Jimmy’s Old Town Tavern.
“If you can make it, we’d love to see you for one more rocking show!” they said.
In addition to a concert from Point of Rock, NoVA Live Music Mingle’s fundraiser will feature a silent auction, raffles and guest-bartending appearances by co-organizers Ann Ball and Jeanette Pagliuco.
A Reston resident who set a Guinness world record last summer for the most live music shows attended in a week, Pagliuco helped establish NoVA Live Music Mingle shortly after moving to the region a few years ago and bonding with Ball and other local music enthusiasts. The group now has over 1,800 members and hosts two to four meet-ups every weekend at local music venues, including Jimmy’s.
After learning that Jimmy’s hosts fundraisers every Thursday, Pagliuco says she quickly thought of StudioRock as a potential beneficiary.
Based in Leesburg, the company offers private lessons and rehearsal space for student musicians. Through its Music for Kids Foundation, owner Mark Campayno regularly provides free lessons and gives donated, used instruments to students in need.
NoVA Live Music Mingle hopes to raise at least $7,500 to support StudioRock’s charitable efforts.
“He is a godsend to these children and we are so happy to be able to do this for him,” Pagliuco told FFXnow, acknowledging that it may take multiple events to reach the fundraising goal.
According to Pagliuco, the fact that the fundraiser will be Point of Rock’s final show is a coincidence. At her suggestion, Jimmy’s booked them for the event back in April, so she was “heartbroken” to learn that it would also be their swan song.
However, she’s glad that her favorite local band will go out with a “big celebration,” and other bands from around the D.C. region, such as Collective and Doc Martens and the Flannels, have also rallied support for the fundraiser.
“We are immensely grateful to so many of the local bands helping support our cause,” Pagliuco said. “We’ve received so many donations, including everything from band merchandise to VIP experiences that we will be auctioning and raffling off. This just made sense for us and our love of music.”
