Big win for Calgary’s homeless thanks to hole in Bon Jovi line-up
Posted Apr 3, 2013 8:33 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
It was an announcement that no-one was expecting, but one that will help to provide support for some of Calgary’s homeless.
More than 15,000 fans packed the Saddledome Tuesday night for the Bon Jovi concert, only to be told Richie Sambora would not be performing.
The guitarist, vocalist and right-hand man to Jon backed out for the rest of the current leg of the band’s Because We Can tour due to “personal issues.”
That means Sambora will be absent Wednesday night for a show in Edmonton; the group’s current stretch of shows will last until April 25th.
The 53-year-old has a history of substance abuse and has done previous stints in rehab although there’s no word yet if that has anything to do with him pulling out.
To help soften the blow of Sambora’s no-show, an announcement before the concert said that Bon Jovi would make a charitable donation of $100,000 to the Calgary Homeless Foundation.
When the group hit the stage, Jon begged the crowd “Hey Calgary, I need you more than ever tonight.” He added while Richie wasn’t in jail or in the hospital, he wouldn’t be playing anytime soon.
The singer got the call that Sambora wouldn’t be at the Saddledome that night around 3:30 p.m. Tuesday.
The donation came as a pleasant surprise to Andrea Ranson, Vice President of Communications and Fund Development for the Calgary Homeless Foundation.
She was at home, when suddenly her phone began to ring off the hook.
Ranson searched through tweets, trying to verify the news via Twitter; she says they’re still not 100 per cent sure it’s true.
“I was looking at his web site, trying to confirm it, what we’ve heard so far has just been through the news,” she says.
She tells 660News she’s hoping to hear from the group’s representatives and adds it wasn’t the way she was expecting to spend her Tuesday night.
“You know we’ve had other large donations that have gone towards buildings, but certainly as a surprise donation this would be one of the largest ones we’ve ever had,” Ranson says.
“The range of costs to help our clients depends on their needs but this could certainly help at least a dozen people,” she says.
The show went on as scheduled in Calgary and a guitar technician stood in for a missing Sambora.
