{"id":277990,"date":"2026-09-03T08:02:10","date_gmt":"2026-09-03T08:02:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/277990\/"},"modified":"2026-09-03T08:02:10","modified_gmt":"2026-09-03T08:02:10","slug":"rock-against-cancer-returns-to-pine-to-benefit-cancer-bridges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/277990\/","title":{"rendered":"Rock Against Cancer returns to Pine to benefit Cancer Bridges"},"content":{"rendered":"

This year\u2019s lineup for Rock Against Cancer will radiate the night with covers featuring the eclectic stylings of Genevieve Carlson & Friends, the three-part harmonies of Buckingham Prep, the sharp skill of Springsteen, Tom Petty and Steely Dan aficionados Stealing Time<\/a> and the Southern rock and blues-tinged nostalgia of the The Hip <\/a>Waders<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always get a little bit of an adrenaline buzz when I perform,\u201d said 61-year-old bassist for the The Hip Waders and Buckingham Prep, festival originator and cancer survivor Mike Fitzgerald of Pine. \u201cIt\u2019s fun being up there and it\u2019s fun to look around and see people singing along and tapping their feet. Most people above the age of 40 would know every song that we\u2019re playing \u2014 and a lot of younger people do, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

The sixth annual iteration of Fitzgerald\u2019s music festival will be held 5 p.m. Sept. 12 at Wexford\u2019s Friends of Pine Amphitheater, benefiting local nonprofit Cancer Bridges<\/a>. Born from a merger of the Cancer Caring Center and Our Clubhouse, it offers support, community and programs and services to those fighting cancer, their loved ones and caregivers.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that a lot of patients and families get support just knowing that other people are going through it at the same time,\u201d said Fitzgerald. \u201cWe see it at every event we do at Cancer Bridges, just how people get along so well, they talk openly about what they\u2019re facing. It can be challenges from losing your hair, to trying to get better sleep, to dealing with medications, to what they can do to make their lives better when they\u2019re being treated and also when they\u2019re done \u2026 A lot of people are concerned about the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

As he grappled with his own Hodgkin Lymphoma diagnosis in the early \u201890s, Fitzgerald\u2019s future was not guaranteed. He got the news on his 25th birthday and subsequently underwent eight months of chemotherapy \u2014 followed by eight weeks of radiation \u2014 to quell a tumor in his chest.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey treated me very aggressively. That time in my life was tough, just because I was sick so much,\u201d said Fitzgerald. \u201cAnd with all the steroids, I gained a tremendous amount of weight, which frankly took me probably 30-plus years to get back to normal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Long after his remission, in 2021, he conceptualized the festival alongside legendary Pittsburgh concert promoter Rich Engler in an effort to give back. Fitzgerald recalled finding comfort in the Cancer Caring Center before ultimately becoming a member and board chair who still sits on the board of Cancer Bridges today.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey always say the grass is a little greener, the sky\u2019s a little bluer,\u201d said Fitzgerald of the life he found in remission. \u201cSince I went through that, things that used to aggravate me, they\u2019re just not worth spending time being aggravated about. You\u2019re really kind of living a new life, and I think your level of appreciation and your level of giving is stimulated to the point where you want to have other cancer patients feel the way you do post-diagnosis.\u201d<\/p>\n

To date, his festival has raised more than $30,000.<\/p>\n

Mobile wine and beer bar Tipsy Gypsy will also be on hand.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a fun event. Kids and whole families are welcome. It\u2019s a nice relaxing evening,\u201d said Fitzgerald. \u201cThe park\u2019s dog-friendly, too. A lot of people brought their dogs last year. And it\u2019s just a nice family night out, benefiting a great organization and listening to some good music.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fitzgerald is ready to put on a show.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s also really fun to play at a place like this amphitheater with Rich Engler handling all the light and sound,\u201d said Fitzgerald. \u201cIt\u2019s like our one night a year that we can actually feel like rock stars.\u201d<\/p>\n

This year, tickets run $60. The cost includes admission, pizza from The Oven Pizza Co., soft drinks and two alcoholic beverages, with 100% of the proceeds going to Cancer Bridges. Tickets can be purchased at bit.ly\/RockAgainstCancer26<\/a>. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This year\u2019s lineup for Rock Against Cancer will radiate the night with covers featuring the eclectic stylings of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":277991,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[73,75,74],"class_list":["post-277990","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pittsburgh","tag-pittsburgh","tag-pittsburgh-headlines","tag-pittsburgh-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/277990","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=277990"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/277990\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/277991"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=277990"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=277990"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=277990"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}