By Jair Martinez
Tustin High School’s Hollywood Connections Club is hosting a benefit concert for the March of Dimes. The Concert will be taking place here at Tustin High School on March 17, 2018. With the help of professionals, the club has been working hard to create a concert that people of all ages would enjoy. “I, for one, can’t wait to go to this concert, and I can tell my friends are excited too. It also makes us feel better to spend money on this concert since we know that it’s for a good cause” explained Marcos Chino, a student at Tustin High School.
March of Dimes’ mission is to raise money in order to help moms have full-term pregnancies, along with funding research on problems that threaten the health of babies. The talent that will be performing in the concert and contributing to this cause include 4th Ave, Ochoa Boyz, Jon Klaasen, and Next Town Down. The concert is at 6PM 8:30PM on Saturday March 17th, 2018! Make that Saturday a day to remember by going to the concert where, “not only do you get to see amazing bands, but your money gets donated to those in need,” commented Sarah Nguyen, one of the members of the Hollywood Connections Club.
After lighting up the stage on ABC’s breakout summer hit, BOY BAND, and weeks of anticipation after announcing their official group name, 4TH AVE, they have been on a path towards becoming a music sensation. Comprised of members Marcus Pendleton (17), Mikey Jimenez (18), Jaden Gray (16) and Cam Jackson (19), the boys came together to form a group. Before ever announcing their new name or music, the guys already amassed a social following of over 200K followers.
The Ochoa brothers Rick (24), Ryan ( 21), Robert (18), Raymond (15), first began their journey in the entertainment business through acting. In addition to acting, the brothers created their own band, OCHOA BOYZ, which performs throughout the LA area. Their unique style is hip-hop, mixed with rap and dance. When they added dance, they got help from dance icon Shane Sparks. The brothers also write their own music and have headlined in multiple venues, including traveling the states on “The Pop Explosion Tour.”
Jon Klaasen was a contestant on the popular reality competition program The X Factor who was a part of the Simon Cowell-formed trio Forever in Your Mind. In 2017, he competed on ABC’s singing competition show Boy Band. He started out as an athlete, playing basketball, soccer, football, tennis and some baseball and was both a musician and athlete for about 4 years until music became his passion.
Next Town Down, made up of 5 members (Terence, Tre’von, Christopher, Malik, Leon) premiered their single “Good Times” in May 2017. They post both cover songs and original songs to their YouTube channel, which has over 310,000 subscribers. Tre’Von, Chris, and Terence started following each other on Instagram and liking each other’s photos. And then they got to sending messages and talking about starting a group together, as they grew up loving legendary groups like New Edition and Boys II Men.
The door opens at 5:30PM and the show starts at 6:00PM. General admission tickets vary from $25 pre-sale and $35 at the door, and there are also VIP tickets! VIP Tickets are $50 pre-sale and $60 (if available) at the door. VIP tickets include admission, early entry into venue, VIP viewing area near front of the stage, a concert poster, and a meet and greet with artists before the show (VIP meet and greet check-in by 3:30PM). Although 4th Ave is not scheduled to be part of the meet and greet, you still get to meet all the other talented stars performing at the concert. There will be refreshments, but make sure to bring cash as the venue is not equipped to accept credit cards. Mark the date on your calendars, tell your friends about it, and come have an amazing time!