Now that Halloween is ending, if youโre looking for something fun to do that also will help support a great cause, you should get your tickets now to the โHop On A Cureโ fund raiser to find a cure for ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), also known as โLou Gehrigโs Disease,โ that will be held this Saturday, November 4, beginning at 1:30 p.m., at Treble Makers Dueling Piano Restaurant & Bar at The Grove.
John Driskell Hopkins, affectionately know as โHopโ by his bandmates in the Zac Brown Band and his other friends (including Treble Makers owner Jamie Hess), was diagnosed with ALS in December of 2021 and started his โHop On A Cureโ 501(c)(3) nonprofit in March of 2022 to raise money to help find a cure for this dreaded nervous system disease, which currently has no cure.
I recently had the pleasure of chatting with Jamie and Hop and although he admits that his guitar playing, speech and ability to walk have definitely slowed since being diagnosed, he feels fortunate that his ALS is a slow-moving version of the illness.
โI have a friend who was diagnosed in his 20s who lived almost 30 years with it, but other people die within just a couple of years,โ says Hopkins. โIt affects everyone a little differently.โ
Although his Wikipedia.com profile calls Hopkins the bass player in the Zac Brown Band, he says he only played bass on the first three albums. He was the bandโs co-founder with Brown and its deep harmony voice for the last 18 years. He also has writing credits on some of the bandโs top hits.ย
Hopkins will be bringing his John Driskell Hopkins Trio โ which includes drummer Mike Rizzi, who also is a close friend of Jamieโs from high school โ to play some of the bandโs original compositions, rock and country covers and some Zac Brown favorites, like (maybe) โToes,โ on which he earned a writing credit.
โHop On A Cure raised over $1 million our first year,โ Hopkins says. โOur goal is to raise $2 million in our second full year.โ
Hopkins, who got his start in Tallahassee in the early โ90s, still plays guitar, sings and tours with the Zac Brown Band (which is famous for hits like โChicken Friedโ and its four platinum albums), as well as with his trio, and says he plans to keep playing and touring for as long as he can. โMy strength and agility arenโt what they once were,โ Hop told me. โBut I plan to keep working at this until we find a cure for ALS.โย
Hopkins was one of more than 20,000 people in the U.S. living with ALS, which usually afflicts people ages 40-70.
Tickets for the fund-raising event at Treble Makers on Nov. 4 cost $40 per person and include a buffet meal, Angels & Outlaws Live (2 p.m.-3:30 p.m.), and Hop and his trio (4 p.m.-5 p.m.).
โWeโre only going to sell 300 tickets and every dollar raised will be donated to Hop On A Cure,โ Hess says. โHop is a great guy and I just want to help him find a cure.โ
For tickets, visit TrebleMakersofWC.com or call (813) 406-4371. To make a donation, scan the QR code above or visit HopOnACure.org.ย