The Red and Black

Local rock group Southern Bitch features Wendy Musick (far right) on guitars. She also plays in another band. The Musickfest benefit will help pay for her medical bills. (Courtesy Musickfest) [Click to enlarge]

From the outside looking in, the life of a musician may not come off as an overtly dangerous one.

Tell that to Wendy Musick.

Musick was living the ever-risky, though not uncommon, life of a local and uninsured musician.

Not a big deal, that is, until an otherwise routine appendectomy revealed a decent-sized tumor on Musick's pancreas.

Pancreatic cancer is the fifth-leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States each year, attacking an organ vital to both digestion and glucose production and storage.

Needless to say, early detection can be the difference between life and death.

Compounding the problem of the obvious health risks are the monetary issues involved with the procedure to remove the tumor.

It is a procedure that, for an uninsured musician, is simply not affordable.

In the face of adversity, though, the music community of Athens is coming together in the best way they know - throwing a two-night benefit concert to rally behind one of its most beloved sisters, whose multi-faceted involvement with the Athens' music scene has spanned almost a decade.

Musick's guitar talents are put to work in her two bands - Southern Bitch and Kimberly Morgan & The Everlovin' Band.

Beyond the performance aspect, Musick has worked as a sound engineer at the historic 40 Watt Club, which will host the first evening of the benefit tonight.

Patterson Hood, frontman for The Drive-By Truckers and a personal friend of Musick, will headline both nights, with the support acts varying each night.

The opening night will feature music from some of Athens' biggest and best, including Clay Leverett, Dave Marr, David Barbe & The Quick Hooks, Will Johnson and Don Chambers & GOAT.

The second night of the festival will be held at Nuci's Space, an organization also well-known for its medical work with uninsured musicians.

The Friday night show will feature Still Small Voice and the Joyfull Noise, Betsy Franck, Kimberly Morgan, Diet Rockstar and Mother Jackson before Hood takes the stage again.

While the immediate concern is the health of Musick in the near future, the benefit organizers also hope to make a longer lasting impact and possibly prevent later cases like Musick's.

According to its Web site, the goal of Musickfest is "to raise funds for the Musick family and heighten awareness of the ongoing problems in our national healthcare system."

Both shows begin at 8 p.m.

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