Guitars 4 Vets Benefit featuring Chris Kroeze

Join us at The Bend Theater this Veterans Day weekend as we team up with Guitars 4 Vets to raise awareness of the healing power of music. Experience the electrifying energy of Chris Kroeze with his soulful country-rock tunes.

In partnership with West Bend Mutual Insurance.

WHY? 

800,000 U.S. VETERANS STRUGGLE WITH PHYSICAL INJURIES, PTSD, AND OTHER EMOTIONAL DISTRESS. WE BELIEVE GUITARS CAN HELP THE HEALING PROCESS.

Music helps decrease anxiety, increase self-esteem, and reduce episodes of panic attacks, nightmares, and flashbacks. A research study of Guitars 4 Vets students showed a 21% improvement in PTSD symptoms. The study attributed learning and playing guitar as the primary catalysts for these improvements—and we want to ensure as many vets as possible have that opportunity.

HOW?

Join us for a night of music, guitars, pass the hat fundraising, and some of the finest folks you will ever meet. The Bend Theater sets a perfect background for a world-class music event while Guitars 4 Vets supplies the noble mission of supporting our veterans that have returned home.

We need you to bring your guitars to donate, your friends, and some dollars to support our veterans.

Featured Musical guests include Chris Kroeze

Chris Kroeze: 

Runner Up on NBC’s THE VOICE / TOP 5 Country Song “Human” (iTunes TOP 100) / Featured in USA Today / Featured in Rolling Stone / #1 ROCK Song (iTunes)

Growing up, there was a guitar in the corner of the family basement that no one was supposed to touch. When no one was looking, a young Chris Kroeze (pronounced Cruise-E) would sneak down and find it. On his 6th birthday, Chris got a guitar of his own and hasn’t put it down since.

Sitting around the campfire on warm summer nights as a child, Chris fell in love with the guitar. His dad would put small stickers on the strings to show him how to play and he listened and learned under the stars in Northwest Wisconsin. Before long, the instrument became the most important thing in his life.

The pull of small town life and the passion for music never left as Kroeze turned into one of the top country musicians in the Midwest. The power of small town community showed as family and friends in Barron helped him get started on his journey to Nashville in 2014, holding a fundraiser that would lead to him recording his first single “Four Letter Words,” which received strong radio play and kick started his career.

In 2015, he began a busy stretch of playing over 175 shows a year, and creating a large and loyal fan following. That popularity soared in 2018, when he appeared on NBC’s hit TV show “The Voice,” making it all the way to the finals in a runner-up finish. In the finale, Kroeze sang the original song “Human,” which was TOP 10 on the Billboard HOT 100 and TOP 5 on the iTunes TOP 100. His vocal and guitar skills, combined with a small-town charm, led to Kroeze to become the most streamed artist in the show’s history.

Kroeze has developed a large military fan base as well, in 2020 making his 10th overseas tour, and he is a recipient of the Red Cross Community Hero Award.

A small town boy who loves the outdoors through and through, Kroeze still lives in Barron, Wisconsin with his wife and can’t imagine raising his two children anywhere else.

Doors open at 6:30 PM to give you time to find your seats, visit our historic lobby, concession stand and fully stocked bar! Show begins at approximately 7:30 PM