The 12th Annual Dustin Mele Memorial Concert

Enjoy an evening full of music to benefit suicide prevention and mental health intervention services. The 12th Annual Dustin Mele Memorial Concert Saturday, March 7, 2026, 6 PM Brown’s Revolution Hall, 425 River Street, Troy, New York, 12180 $20 minimum suggested donation at the door Get ready for an evening of iconic Motown R&B music this year, performed one-night-only by the Memorial All Star Band and Super 400, including special guest musicians Chad Ploss, Steve Candlen, Bob Vandetta, Dave McCarthy, Tony Perrino, Kyle Bourgault, Steve Seney, Rich Romano, Alexandra Higgins, Matt Mirable, Lisa Gordon, Tom Murphy, Mary Rolfe, Teresa Burns Parkhurst, Chris Garabedian, Will Foley, Leo Kachidurian, Peter Iselin, Michelle Martinez, Jill Hughes, Joe Mele and more. Proceeds from the Memorial Concert will support three organizations, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP); National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), and Rensselaer County mental health and emergency assistance programs through the Catholic Charities CoNSERNS-U program, all in memory of Dustin. Over 400 attend the Memorial Concert each year, helping us reach over $183,000 total in fundraising. A veteran of more than 50 years on the local music circuit, Joe Mele lost his son Dustin to suicide in 2013 and rallied the area’s elite musicians to raise awareness of the growing suicide and mental health epidemic. Dustin’s friends and family believe that with erasing the stigma of depression and making proper mental health care more easily available, lives can be saved. Suicide is at epidemic proportions and touches more lives and families every day. Over the past 12 years, the Mele family has gone above and beyond to try to bring awareness and assistance to those who are struggling in the Capital Region. American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) has credited the Dustin Mele Memorial Concert as the top Upstate New York fundraiser for 10 years for AFSP’s largest annual event, Walk for R.I.T.A., which raises money for suicide awareness, prevention and family support programs. Recently, NAMI New York State presented Dustin’s family and the Memorial Concert Event with their highest honor, the prestigious Storyteller award. This year’s Dustin Mele Memorial Concert event is sponsored in part by Brown’s Brewing; Ale House; Chris Garabedian Custom Clothing; 21st Century Properties; Clark Courier Services; D.O.B Parkinson’s Charity; Fagan Associates; Grant Vine Consulting Engineers, P.C.; PC; Live Sound Inc.; Modern Press; Parkway Music; RadioRadioX; Rensselaer County Sheriff’s Office; Robert Etoll Productions; Screen Designs Inc.; Signature One Realty Group; Sheriff Kyle Bourgault; and Squared Home Inspections. Online donations can also be made to any or all 3 benefiting organizations: Catholic Charities Dustin Mele Memorial Fund: https://fundraise.givesmart.com/e/zniRwQ?vid=1orj8o NAMI Dustin Mele Memorial Concert: https://naminys.networkforgood.com/projects/295614 AFSP Dustin Mele Memorial Concert: https://buy.stripe.com/fZu3cu37s0Z8cvvcIp8IW0x For more information on the Annual Dustin Mele Memorial Concert, visit our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/DustinMeleMemorial.

Event Links

Facebook: https://go.evvnt.com/3501257-0

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