Rock for Tots event celebrates its 17th year
Live concert, streaming broadcast benefits the Beach Cities Toy Drive and the Harbor Regional Center Holiday Help Fund
South Bay musical talent will rock Hermosa Beach for a good cause on Dec. 10 with the return of a live Rock for Tots Charity Concert.
In its 17th year, Rock for Tots will be a hybrid event, taking place live at the Hermosa Music Company, 636 Cypress Ave., with a livestreaming broadcast. The event will benefit the Beach Cities Toy Drive and the Harbor Regional Center Holiday Help Fund.
The Dec. 10 event will take place from 2 to 9 p.m. and feature performances from Rock for Tots founder Jeremy Buck and Kevin Sousa, the founder of the Hermosa Music Company. They will be joined by 10 other acts, many based in the South Bay.
This is the first live Rock for Tots since 2019, which was held at the nowclosed Saint Rock in Hermosa Beach, Buck said. Because of the pandemic, the charity concert was livestreamed in 2020 and in 2021.
Those two live-streamed concerts helped organizers reach a bigger audience and increased online donations.
“We were able to hang on and do some pretty cool livestreams that I'm very excited and proud of,” Buck said. “They were a lot of work, but it kind of exposed us to a larger audience, not only here in Southern California, but kind of all over the place.”
Sousa said he was excited to open Hermosa Music Company, a studio space, in 2018.
“The reason we built the Hermosa Music Company was specifically for community events just like this,” Sousa said, “and to help others especially during the holidays.”
During the upcoming Rock for Tots, ShockBoxx Gallery, next door to the Hermosa Music Company, will be open as a “Hang Out Lounge.”
“They can come hang out at ShockBoxx without a ticket,” Buck said, “and we will encourage those that do to make a donation for the cause.”
There will also be a taco truck in front of the venue from 3 to 5 p.m. Beer and wine will be available with cash donations.
Guests are encouraged to bring new unwrapped toys to the Rock for Tots tent outside the venue. Organizers will also be collecting cash donations online and at the event.
The donations benefit the nonprofit Beach Cities Toy Drive, in its 30th year distributing toys to children in need. It also helps the Harbor Regional Center Holiday Help Fund, which connects organizations with those who have de
velopmental disabilities and need various products and services, such as food and emergency rent payments.
Tickets are available in limited quantities for the live show and are sold on a first-come-first-served basis at Rock4Tots.net, where the performances will be streamed for free.
Doors open at 1 p.m.
The show can also be viewed at Buck's Facebook and YouTube channels.
Also performing are The Lucky Ones, Latch Key Kid, Pedro Reis, Barley, Kat Hall, Mike & Jeff, Olivia Pucci, Michael Gourzis, Joe Cipolla, and Megg.
“For those who can't be there in person,” Buck said, “(you) can still participate online and help to make a difference.”
For more information and to buy tickets, go to Rock4Tots.net.