It’s a battle of the bands. It’s a fundraiser for USA Health.
And it features an unexpected twist.
Each of the bands includes at least one member with a direct tie to USA Health — doctors, nurses, specialty therapists all band up to raise funds for their employer.
On Jan. 30, 2025, five bands will take to the stage at Soul Kitchen Music Hall in downtown Mobile with the common goal of supporting USA Health.
Doc Rock, a battle of the bands-style philanthropy event, raised more than $47,000 to benefit research and clinical needs at USA Health entities when it was last held in March 2024. Raising money through audience votes, bands competed on behalf of USA Health University Hospital, Children’s and Women’s Hospital, the Mitchell Cancer Institute, USA Health Providence Hospital and the Physician Enterprise.
To qualify to participate, each band must have at least one member affiliated with USA Health.
“We’ve been amazed by the musical talent within our USA Health community, from physicians, nurses and respiratory therapists to our patients and friends, making this a great way for everyone to showcase their skills, unwind and support their hospitals,” says Shanna Thorpe, director, constituent engagement, medical affairs development at the University of South Alabama (USA).
Doc Rock grew from a desire to engage with a new demographic by offering a lower-cost ticketed fundraiser with a casual atmosphere. When a USA graduate attending a Frederick P. Whiddon College of Medicine young alumni event in Knoxville, Tennessee, mentioned he had participated in a battle of the bands fundraiser, the USA Office of Development team knew this format was the perfect fit for their purposes and would attract community interest.
“Since the concept was shared at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, we had time to develop it, get buy-in and recruit some amazing local talent,” Thorpe says. The first event was in 2022, and it has grown each year with significant increases in attendance providing higher ticket sales, more money raised through voting and greater visibility.
Ryan Wright, a respiratory therapist at USA Health for five years, has participated in Doc Rock since its beginning. He sings lead vocals and plays rhythm guitar for The Shotcallers. The group plays a mix of music from the 1960s and ’70s along with newer songs and raises money for Children’s and Women’s respiratory therapy department. “Each year gets a little better,” says Wright. “Bringing home the Crowd Favorite award definitely improved the experience for us.” Funds raised have been used to buy a new transport ventilator for the hospital.
“As someone who has worked in that department and seen firsthand the good that they do, it feels good to give back,” Wright says. “Not only do I get the chance to play on the stage at Soul Kitchen and play rock star for the night, but I get to help the great respiratory therapists at Children’s and Women’s continue to provide excellent care for their patients.” The Shotcallers have applied to compete again in 2025.
Guitarist for By the Way, Dr. Joseph Jones is a radiation oncologist at Mitchell Cancer Institute (MCI). He grew up in Mobile and was treated at USA when he had cancer at 18 years old. Jones worked as an engineer for about 10 years before turning to medicine. By the Way members have enjoyed playing Doc Rock for the past two years and plan to apply again.
“The other bands are great, and we’ve raised a lot of money for MCI,” says Jones. “The venue and production quality are outstanding.”
With the mission to discover, develop and deliver innovative solutions to improve cancer outcomes for patients across the Gulf Coast, MCI is the largest academic fellowship-trained medical oncology practice in the region.
“It’s great to be able to spend time with my friends and raise money for excellent causes,” Jones says. “I’m partial to MCI and cancer research, but the group representing Project Inspire last year also did a phenomenal job and raised a significant amount of money and awareness for their project.”
Project Inspire, represented at the 2024 event by gospel music group Society Hill, is USA Health’s multi-week, hospital-based injury prevention program that combines trauma center exposure, mentorship and career development through an ongoing partnership with the Strickland Youth Center. Through touring the Fanny Meisler Trauma Center, learning life-saving skills and shadowing staff in clinical and administrative areas of the hospital, local juvenile offenders are given an opportunity to complete career planning activities and participate in community service projects. Project Inspire aims to curb violent crime among at-risk youth and help participants become the best versions of themselves.
After the participating bands are announced, fundraising will begin through an online voting system where supporters can exchange $1 for a vote for their favorite group. Participating bands create a custom fundraising page and must raise at least $1,000.
Online voting continues until the end of the show, when organizers calculate the grand totals. QR codes are posted throughout the venue to make it easy for attendees to scan and vote. All funds raised by the bands go toward their designated USA Health entity. Additionally, four special prizes are up for grabs: Rock the Mission (the highest fundraising total), $5,000; Fanatic Award (highest number of individual donors), $4,000; Technical Award (decided by guest judges), $3,000; and Crowd Favorite (noise-tested during the event), $2,000.
The growing amount of interest means that each year Doc Rock organizers have had to turn away more bands.
“We will have some incredibly talented bands this year. It was a difficult process to choose them, and we hope the bands that didn’t get chosen will apply again next year,” says Thorpe. “We wish we could accept all the bands, but we have to limit the show to five for time’s sake.”
Doc Rock 2025 will be held during the week of the Reese’s Senior Bowl but scheduled on Jan. 30 — an evening without conflicting activities — with the hope of attracting out-of-town visitors.
Doors of the Soul Kitchen, located at 219 Dauphin St., will open at 6:30 p.m. Tickets and votes for participating bands can be purchased at usahealthsystem.com/doc-rock.
Kathleen Farrell is a Mobile-based freelance contributor to Business Alabama.
This article appears in the December 2024 issue of Business Alabama.
