Local concert on the golf course benefiting mental health services.

Residents from the Crescenta Valley and other neighboring communities will enjoy the tunes of local cover band FM Radio on the fifth hole of the Verdugo Hills Golf Course on Saturday, July 28 from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. – all in the name of mental health.

The Jeff Laughrey Memorial Concert on the Course sponsored by Monster Energy has two goals: to bring the community together for a summer evening concert on the golf course while helping in the fight against mental illness and the stigma associated with it. This will be a family-friendly event and concert-goers are encouraged to bring blankets and chairs to relax on as they listen and dance to the sounds of FM Radio. Food and beverages will be sold through Tees on the Green, the golf course’s restaurant.

Information about the concert and a link to purchase tickets can be found at www.jefflaughrey.golfreg.com. General admission is $20 per person and is considered as a donation (kids under 12 are free). Net proceeds from the concert will benefit Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services, the first non-profit outpatient mental health clinic in Los Angeles County. Didi Hirsch offers community education, clinic-based treatment, and residential care to people of all ages.

“You’ll be challenged to find someone who hasn’t been affected by mental illness, either directly or indirectly,” said concert creator and organizer Brian Ferrera. “This is a chance for all of us to donate money to a common cause while enjoying time with family and friends.”

“Depression and mental illness are things that need to be talked about in the open,” added Jay Laughrey, whose brother’s own battle with mental illness served as the inspiration for the benefit concert. “This concert allows us to acknowledge mental illness out in the open and raise money to fight against it.”

Both Ferrera and Laughrey grew up in the Crescenta Valley. The band FM Radio is also homegrown and performs at local venues on a regular basis.

“We’re excited and honored to be playing the concert,” said FM Radio drummer Travis Chatham, who counted Jeff Laughrey as one of his closest friends. “La Crescenta has experienced some recent tragedies as a result of mental illness and FM Radio is looking forward to being a part of the healing process.”

The concert will serve as the closing event to a day dedicated to the fight against mental illness. Prior to the concert will be the 3rd Annual Jeff Laughrey Memorial Golf Tournament sponsored by Bonner’s Equipment Rentals and George & Casey Paradis, the net proceeds of which benefit Jeff Laughrey’s daughter’s college fund and Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services.

The popularity of the golf tournament – and that it sells out weeks prior to the event date – is what led Ferrera to the idea for the evening concert.

“Everyone has such a great time at the golf tournament,” he said, “that we wanted to expand the experience to the larger community with the benefit concert right on the golf course. We’ve been told this is the first time a concert has been held on the course. That’s a pretty cool thing to be a part of.”

Verdugo Hills Golf Course is located at 6433 La Tuna Canyon Road, Tujunga.