“Truly, the best thing about SRQRocks is that when we look back at this event in the future, the best possible memory one could have will be recalled, ‘Hey! It like a family event,'” Seven Years Past said on its Facebook page.

The event, which included food, vendors and a kids’ area along with the live music, raised more than $8,000 and drew an estimated crowd of 2,000 in attendance throughout the duration of the event, which ran from 3 to 10 p.m.

“It was great to see the talented musicians from Sarasota and to watch the crowd, adults and kids, enjoying the fun event!” says Art Lambert, president and CEO of S-One. “I even had my face painted!  The organizing teams from S-One’s Culture Club and Sarasota’s Young Professionals Group should get a rousing applause and standing ovation for such a wonderful charitable cause!  Let’s do it again!”

The local bands that performed during the event included Seven Years Past, In Treble, Hymn For Her, First World Problems and The Savannah Brady Band. S-One’s in-house band, The Paperboys, kicked off the performances with some classic rock-n-roll tunes.

“What started as an idea from Art Lambert turned into an event that far exceeded our expectations,” says Shauna Malgieri, who joined the Rock for a Cause Executive Committee with fellow S-One teammates, Angie Lane and Karim Manning. “We expected it to be a fairly small event, but we ended up with a total of 29 band submissions, and the website had more than 10,000 unique views from all over the country.”

Below are some scenes throughout the day. Please visit our Gallery on our Who We Are page.

During the event, which runs from 3­–10 p.m. on Palm Avenue, the top six bands (chosen from online submissions) will compete for $1,500 cash prize and a chance to allocate $3,500 to the music department of a local school of their choice. The winning band will also come back and play the closing set. Vendors will sell products, food and beverages, and kids will have their own special area, too.

Bands that would like to compete can visit SRQRocks.com to submit two songs in audio or video format by Sept. 15. All genre, age and talent levels are encouraged to participate. Anyone can visit the page and vote for the band they’d like to see perform at the event. Follow all the updates on Facebook.

S-One’s own in-house band will perform before the six finalists take the stage, so be sure to save the date and join us for Rock for a Cause on Oct. 11.