KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — A new concert series is starting in June that will benefit three Knoxville charities.

The series, called Concerts For Our Own, is put together by veteran concert planner Aaron Snukals, Founder and Chief Happiness Officer of Concerts For Our Own, LLC. According to the group’s website, the team has over 40 years of combined experience with concerts, events, and festivals in and around the region.

Eighty percent of the concerts proceeds will go to support the organizations Breast Connect, Special Spaces, and The Love Kitchen.

The lineup for the concert series is:

• June 15 – Mac McAnally – The Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame member was inducted in 2007. According to the Hall of Fame Foundation, He has recorded at least 11 albums and has had songs on the pop and country charts. Since then, McAnally has worked as a producer for Jimmy Buffett, Ricky Skaggs, Restless Hear, and Sawyer Brown. The County Music Awards Website lists McAnally as a 12-time nominee and 10-time winner of the Musician of the year.
• August 10 – Sweet Caroline Tour Featuring Jay White – According to the tour’s website, The tour is a Neil Diamond Concert Celebrations starring Jay White, the #1 Diamond performer in the world. The band and White have performed more than 10,000 concerts of Diamond’s hits across three decades.
• October 12 – Here Comes the Mummies – The band has been delivering what it calls “their brand of Terrifying Funk from Beyond the Grave” since “2000 A.D.” with live shows that will “bend your brain, and melt your face.”

All three concerts will be at the Tennessee Amphitheater in Worlds Fair Park, located at 525 Henley Street.

Nina Reineri with Breast Connect, told WATE that the organization is very happy to be a part of the concert series.

“It’s super exciting, you know, It’s a win-win for everybody because the community benefits, it’s music, it’s money going to a great cause, and we’re just very fortunate to be a part of this.” Reineri said.

Reineri explained that ticket sales will be open to the public on Friday, March 17, with sale for members of the nonprofits opening on Friday, March 10. Tickets will be available at two price points, $50 or $60, and an upgrade can be purchased to include a barbeque dinner for $35, according to Reineri.

About the Charities

Breast Connect is an advocacy 501(c)(3) organization that helps those diagnosed with breast cancer by providing support from the time they are diagnosed until they finish their journey with the disease, Reineri explained. Breast Connect has a safe, private Facebook group where women can ask any question they may have, and provides a website with in-depth resources written by survivors for survivors. The organization also purchases and provides mastectomy kits for free to newly diagnosed women who are having a mastectomy and sends flowers to anyone having surgery in the East Tennessee Area.

In addition to all of this, Breast Connect also helps match up those who are newly diagnosed with a sister survivor with an identical diagnosis, surgery, and treatments. The organization also holds events and dinners for those battling cancer and survivors to meet each other and learn more about the disease.

Special Spaces has two Tennessee chapters, including one in Knoxville. The organization creates dream bedroom makeovers for children with cancer between the ages of 2- and 12-years-old. Special Spaces has chapters across the country as far as Buffalo, New York, Boca Raton, Florida, and Omaha, Nebraska.

Some of the most recently shared posts on social media from Special Spaces show off a Super Mario Bros. themed room with bunkbeds and a climbing wall, a gaming cave dream room, a gymnastics themed room, and a construction themed room.

The Love Kitchen has been providing meals, clothing, and emergency food packages to people who are homebound, homeless and unemployed for over 35 years. The organization, started by sisters Helen and Ellen Ashe in 1984, runs without paid staff so all donations go to those who need it most, their website says.

Every year, the Love Kitchen serves an average of 166,400 meals, according to their website. The organization says it has had more than 1,300 volunteers and serves around 3,200 meals per week.