Jay Allen will perform Alzheimer’s benefit in Manassas

Country singer Jay Allen will perform a benefit concert for the Alzheimer’s Association on Saturday, May 6, at the Salisbury Center in Manassas.

The event is being hosted by Tribute at the Glen, a senior home in Woodbridge.

The singer appeared on NBC’s “The Voice.” His song “Blank Stares,” written for his mother, Sherry Rich, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s at 51, and died three years later in 2019, has raised $100 million to help fight the disease.

Tickets range from $30 to $100. The Salisbury Center is at 8890 Mathis Avenue.

Country music star Jay Allen, an Alzheimer’s Association advocate and contestant on Season 22 of NBC’s ‘The Voice,’ will perform at a concert to benefit the Alzheimer’s Association on Saturday evening, May 6 at the Salisbury Center in Manassas, VA.

Allen wrote the hit song “Blank Stares” for his mother, Sherry Rich, who was diagnosed with younger-onset Alzheimer’s at 51 and succumbed to the disease three years later in 2019. “Blank Stares” went viral after Allen sang the song to his mother at a concert in Iowa. The song has raised $100 million to help fight the disease – $50 million alone since his appearance on ‘The Voice’ six months ago.

Michelle Mindock, community relations director at the assisted living community Tribute at the Glen in Woodbridge and organizer of the concert, is one of Allen’s self-proclaimed biggest fans. “I’ve been honored to have Jay perform for me before,” said Mindock. “He’s an absolutely amazing performer … his heart is just truly amazing. I feel honored to know him at the moment and blessed to hear his music.”

Her excitement for the show extends to the residents of ‘The Glen’ community and their families, several who plan to attend the concert. Mindock, a certified dementia practitioner, knows the importance of music, especially to those living with Alzheimer’s. “Some haven’t seen a live concert in a really long time,” she said. “The music center part of the brain is never touched by the disease. It is the most heartwarming emotional thing to see when you play their song and there’s no gap. They just sing word for word perfectly. It’s just so amazing.”

On a personal note, Mindock has lost many family members to Alzheimer’s. Advocating for the Alzheimer’s Association in her community and beyond is much more than a profession – she calls it her passion. “It’s hard to watch your loved ones slowly forget who you are, or not remember your name,” she said. “I want to see a cure in my lifetime. Alzheimer’s may take away the brain, but it doesn’t take the heart. The goal ultimately is to find a cure so that we don’t have to watch our loved ones slip away anymore.”

This year marks the fifth time Mindock has organized fundraising events for The  Longest Day, a DIY fundraising initiative of the Alzheimer’s Association. She previously organized a concert featuring Allen at the Great Falls Assisted Living  in Herndon last September. She shared an emotionally powerful moment from that event: “Jay started talking about his mom, telling his story, and started to sing ‘Blank Stares.’ It was dead silent at first, there was no wind, nothing. As soon as he started talking about his mom, the trees started blowing, there was a breeze in the air, and the more he kept talking about his mom, the more the trees kept blowing,” she shared. “And all the way through he sang the song, and then as soon as he stopped singing the song, the wind and everything stopped too. His mom was there with him the whole time.”

“Concert for a Cure” is one of the largest fundraising events Mindock has organized, and she promises it will be a night to get away, have fun, and listen to some good music. “This venue (Salisbury Center) will hold a thousand people, and I want to raise as much money as we can for the Alzheimer’s Association and honor Jay’s mom and all the hard work he’s doing.”

Doors open at 6 p.m., and the show starts at 7 p.m. Concert tickets are $30, and VIP seating, which includes a meet-and-greet, are  $100. One hundred percent of the proceeds will go to the Alzheimer’s Association. Mindock’s goal for the evening is to raise $50,000 through ticket sales, sponsorships, silent auction items, and concert “swag” – like tee shirts and signed photographs. “I’m a big concert person, so, you know, I don’t go away from a concert without a t-shirt,” Mindock said.

For more information and to purchase tickets, visit bit.ly/TributeConcert2023.