On October 17, MAMA's Coffeehouse, a nonprofit, acoustic music concert series in Birmingham, will host a benefit concert for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society in honor of two local women who recently lost their battles with cancer. Headlining will be Stewart Francke, who is an 11-year leukemia survivor.
The concert is in memory of Denise Marie Stein of St. Clair Shores and Pamela Campau of Pinckney. Both of these women appeared on the recent benefit CD for LLS and have passed away from cancer since the project was released earlier this year. In addition to Francke, the show will feature Josh White Jr, Matt Watroba and Floyd King & the Bushwackers.
Denise Marie Stein played keyboards for contra dance engagements as well as dulcimer and autoharpand was a wonderful singer. She performed in many groups including Just Us Two, Tansy Patch, Fox Fire and, most recently, Floyd King & the Bushwackers. (This is Dennis' band; Denise Marie was a friend of ours.) She died in June after a 4-year battle with leukemia. Her best friend and singing partner, Maggie Ferguson of Auburn Hills, had this to say about her:
"Despite all the difficulties that leukemia imposed upon her, Denise was always willing to go out and play music. She never allowed disease to come between her physical being and her art. Denise was stoic in that way. Denise had a gift for song, and harmony came natural to her as well. Her lyrical voice and articulate autoharp stylings created an enchanting blend of tone and texture, and she was able to forget about her condition whenever she was performing. Denise never gave up. She always soldiered on, looking forward to the day that her disease would loosen its hold upon her. On May 10, 2009, although in great discomfort, Denise stood before an audience in a little raw oyster bar on St. George Island, FL and sang for two and a half hours straight. Little did we know that it would be our last gig together. Denise never allowed leukemia to rule her life; rather, she gave in wholeheartedly to the thing that brought her the greatest joy, and that was music."
Pamela Campau was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in July 2002. After conventional chemotherapy, she pursued several alternative therapies over the next several years. She lost her fight with cancer and related complications in May 2008. She pursued various forms of art her entire life and described herself as a mixed media artist. Pamela also released the CD "Work In Progress," a collection of songs that address some of her thought and dreams about life, living and dying.
"Although she wasn't directly involved with LLS, She felt very honored and uplifted to have one of her songs included on the CD. It made her happy to think about how this CD will help so many people," her husband Jeff said. She died just a couple of weeks after recording a song for the CD. Her lovely, whimsical artwork, Chemo Fairy #4, graces the cover.
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is the world's largest voluntary health organization dedicated to funding blood cancer research, education and patient services. LLS's mission is to cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families. This year, LLS celebrates its 60th anniversary.
Tickets to the concert are $15 general admission and $13 for students and seniors. The LLC benefit CD will be available for sale. The concert begins at 8 p.m.,with open mike beginning at 7:15 p.m. MAMA's is located at the Birmingham Unitarian Church, 38651 N. Woodward at Lone Pine Rd. in Bloomfield Hills. For more information visit www.mamascoffeehouse.org
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