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Great fun at the 22nd Annual
Charity Fall Music Festival
 Fall has never been better in the wine county and this year is no different as the Doobie Brothers and several headline bands performed to over 5,000 attendees raising much needed funds for several worthy charities including the Sonoma Valley Mentoring Alliance, Sonoma Valley Education Foundation, the Boys and Girls Club Valley of the Moon and the National Veteran's Foundation.
 The 22nd annual B.R. Cohn Charity Events Fall Music Festival and Golf Classic started Friday, October 3rd with the gala dinner and auction. Scheduled for the autumn hues of the winery's Olive Grove, the event was hastily moved to the crush pad and tented due to a rather strong fall storm. Despite the weather, Alex's Catering and great team of concert employees and volunteer staff pulled off a fabulous evening that raised needed funds for charities. Bidders bid up trips, large format wine bottles and other rare wines and wine dinners.
The first of two-days of concerts began the next day, October 4th, under perfect weather with the Turtles, aka Flo and Eddie, who are long time favorites of Cohn's. First time performer Todd Rundgren played a raucous set followed by legendary actor/songwriter Kris Kristofferson who was also making his first appearance at the event. Prior to the annual stage auction, National Veteran's Foundation head Shad Meshad along with Kate Knudsen (widow of late Doobie's drummer Keith), Pat Simmons of the Doobie Brothers and Bruce reminded the crowd why they were there, to raise money for the charities which included the Vets. At 5pm, as the sun was setting over Sonoma Mountain and the newly replanted acreage behind the stage glowing in the setting sun, the Doobie Brothers, a band Bruce Cohn has managed since its inception in 1970, hit the stage hard opening up with the Pat Simmons song 'Dangerous.' The hour-long set concluded at twilight with the Tom Johnston penned hit sing-along 'Listen to the Music' with several of the days musicians joining in.
 Sundays concert sold-out. Opening the show was Doobie daughter Lara Johnston with her 11-piece band playing a slew of hit songs, including the Edgar Winter hit 'Free Ride' in which her father Tom Johnston played lead guitar on. Next up was the Turtles, followed by Rock n Roll Hall of Famer Dave Mason, then bluesman Robert Cray. The stage auction Sunday raised thousands for the charities and was highlighted by some strong bids for autographed guitars and big format wine from B.R. Cohn. The Doobie Brothers then proceeded to blow the audience away with another awesome set of music and an all-star encore.
 The four-day event came to a close Monday at Sonoma Golf Club on a picture perfect day for golf. Over 130 golfers hit the links winding down a memorable weekend of great music, fundraising, food and wine at one of the finest destinations in the wine country, B.R. Cohn Winery. Visit www.brcohn.com for a wrap-up on this year's event and information leading up to next year.
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