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More than 20 local bands will be performing this weekend at a big gig spread over two town pubs to help the 400 or so Islanders who will get diagnosed with cancer and need to have chemo this year.
The FOJO Festival of Music, now in its second year, has been organised by musician Shane Horgan to raise money for the charity that helped his wife when she was battling cancer.
Shane said: “My wife got diagnosed with lymphoma in October 2014, when she was only 36 with three children under 14.
"She’s in remission now and has checks every couple of months but when she was having her treatment I felt like I wanted to give something back to the staff who help in lots of different ways."
This Sunday the Troubador will play host to Luke Jarvis, Falenizza Horsepower, Rat Salad, Zoo Hair, The Reasons, The Outpatients, The Pirates, Joe Young & the Bandits, The Kickbacks and Vargus.
On stage in The Blue Note will be Terry Oliver, The Crack, Certain Villain’s, Backbeat, The Blind Drivers, Nasty Habit, Lauren Ivy & The Engine, JC & The Looney Tunes, L is M and Little Black Dress.
Shane, who will be performing with his own band The Outpatients, said: “We’ve got something for everybody, every style of music and that’s what we’ve tried to do – a bit of jazz, classic rock music, some blues, some soul, some funk at The Blue Note.
“If you go along to The Troubador, you’ll see a lot of younger bands who write their own material. It’s important because so few venues give you the chance to play your own stuff.”
Last year's gig raised £5,000 for Friends of Jersey Oncology which was set up by Specialist Oncology Nurse Kerry Burnett in 2012 because of the lack of resources in the Oncology department. Thanks to the charity, it now has a quiet room where people can go when they’ve just been given bad news and the staff give cancer patients a special pack to help make losing their hair and the other side-effects of treatment more bearable.
Shane hopes this year's music fest will raise even more for the charity and help those dealing with the after-effects of treatment.
The pubs’ landlord Noel Flood said: “It’ll be non-stop entertainment all afternoon. We have the Sunday market too, so there will be music on the street and food as well and it will be a fabulous day.”
Tickets cost £5 for unlimited entrance to both venues and the music starts at 1 pm.
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