Area bands will perform benefit concert

A benefit concert Saturday to raise money for children’s homes in Portales will feature three local bands.

The concert will be held at Eastern New Mexico University in the Campus Union Building ballroom.

The band TUFTU takes the stage at 6 p.m., followed by Pre-Ordained, Thousand Year Reign and from Lubbock, Texas, a band called A Road Less Traveled.

Portales firefighter Lance Hill has been working since November of last year to get the bands together for the concert. Hill said the youth group from his church has attended concerts by A Road Less Traveled the past two years.

“I got in contact with them to see if they wanted to come out and headline the show,” Hill said. “Then I started to talk to Cassie Paden, who is the drummer for Thousand Year Reign. She spoke with her band and they said they would be interested in playing.”

The other two bands followed suit to help raise money for the Christian Children’s Home and Baptist Children’s home. Paden was able to help contact the Clovis hip-hop band Pre-Ordained. Hill is also related to two members of TUFTU of Portales.

“We started out wanting to get a Christian concert here in town to spread the word of Christ,” Hill said. “Before we decided to charge for the concert, we started thinking about the children in the children’s homes who are not able to do the things normal children do. We decided to do what we can to raise money for them.”

Paden and her group wanted help to raise money for the children’s homes. Thousand Year Reign has been performing for different charity events to raise money for families. Recently they performed at the Kevin Gardels concert to raise money for his heart surgery.

“Hill had talked me about getting the band A Road Less Traveled down here to perform,” Paden said. “We worked to put it together and once it was said and done, we decided to make it a benefit and added the proceeds going to the children’s homes.”

Thousand Year Reign has been together since October of last year. Paden is the drummer and Jose Archuleta sings lead vocals and plays guitar. He also wrote some of songs for the band.

“I hope there is a big turn out,” Archuleta said. “The mission is to seek and save the lost. It doesn’t matter if we become famous or we raise a lot of money, that isn’t the point. The point is about reaching people.”

Who: *TUFTU 6 p.m.

• Pre-Ordained 7 p.m.

• Thousand Year Reign 8 p.m.

http://www.myspace.com/thousandyearreign7.com

• A Road Less Traveled 10 p.m.

Where: Campus Union Building

Cost: Tickets are $10 at Paden Insurance and Movie Gallery.

They are also available at the door.