by Jeff Pederson
for The Beacon

Due to overwhelming demand, the next Unity Music Festival concert has expanded to two concerts on one night as Terry Lee Goffee is set to present a pair of performances of his “World’s Greatest Johnny Cash Experience” show at 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 19 at the Sheboygan Lutheran Fine Arts Center in Sheboygan. 

After surpassing the $10,000 fundraising milestone in support of the Sheboygan County Cancer Care Fund with a pair of shows featuring Casi Joy of “The Voice” television show on Oct. 2, 2021 at the Sheboygan Lutheran Fine Arts Center and the BritBeat Beatles tribute show on Nov. 6, 2021 at the Weill Center for the Performing Arts in Sheboygan, Unity Music Festival organizer Jon Bolker is back with two more shows to usher in 2022. 

Now in its 18th year, the Unity Music Festival has traditionally assisted local families dealing with cancer dating back to the very first UMF Concert at Sheboygan Falls High School in 2005 under the direction of original UMF organizer Mary Ann Waldbauer of Sheboygan Falls. 

According to Belgium resident Jon Bolker, who took over organizational duties for the Unity Music Festival from Waldbauer in 2020, the Unity Music Festival will return in early 2022 with a new fundraising beneficiary. 

“My ultimate goal for the Unity Music Festival is to expand the once yearly festival into multiple events, as well as diversify the charities we work with,” Bolker said. “We were able to expand and do two shows in 2021 and now we are starting 2022 with two more shows on the same night, but this time our February 19th shows will be assisting the Leukemia Research Foundation.

“Like the Sheboygan County Cancer Care Fund, the Leukemia Research Foundation assists people directly,” he said. “However, their main emphasis throughout the years has been to provide direct funding to early research to find cures for blood cancers.

“Since 1948, the Leukemia Research Foundation has raised over $80 million dollars for these efforts,” he said. “Those looking for more information, can check out https://allbloodcancers.org/.”

Bolker is pleased to welcome Terry Lee Goffee’s Johnny Cash tribute show to Sheboygan, which has gained considerable esteem throughout the years for providing a vivid portrayal of the beloved “Man in Black.”

“Terry Lee Goffee is the leading guy in the country, who looks like and sounds like Johnny Cash,” Bolker said. “Even Johnny Cash’s siblings have endorsed him.

“Tickets for this show are already selling quickly, so I would encourage people to get their tickets soon,” he said. “There are still some good seats left, but I am urging people to buy their tickets now before all the seats are sold.”

In addition to ticket sales for the two shows, Bolker is seeking additional donations in support of the Leukemia Research Foundation. 

“I am looking for direct donations to charity and I am offering the donors a match in radio commercials screen shots and tickets,” Bolker said. “Anyone that is interested in helping out the Leukemia Research Foundation this way can contact me by email at Jon@scccf.org or call me at 920-917-6062.”

Tickets for both of Terry Lee Goffee’s “World’s Greatest Johnny Cash Experience” shows on Saturday, Feb. 19 are currently available by calling 920-917-6062 or visiting http://www.bestcashconcert.com.