TAO TOGETHER AS ONE
Taila Saenz
Kandy Kyong
Maggie May
Michael
Valana Spencer
Aqua Willowind
Carmen Cardone
BB
=====================Main Sponsors==================
FRIDAY
Sponsors
Holly Giles
by Michael
Video by Kandy
We have all been looking forward to this event, the TAO Christmas Festival for weeks - in fact - ever since the last one! With an incredible amount of love and work, Winter and Holly, and all their hardworking helpers always manage a fundraising miracle at these events.
This time, in the run up to the event we had heard that Winter was incapacitated so it was sooo good to see him here - large as life and twice as generous! The snow covered location looks breathtaking and the whole place is buzzing in anticipation of the amazing three days ahead......
And then - bang on time - it started ....
Holly was first up - straight into a wonderful rendition of Silent Night. I must admit am a massive fan of Holly. Her tone and clarity are exceptional and the songs she sings all seem all seem tailor made to showcase her undoubted talent.
As she smashed her way through another wonderful set - an eclectic mix of requests and christmas songs - she found time to promote the event and encourage donations to the wonderful cause.
Particularly touching was her rendition of "Tennessee Whiskey" which she dedicated to her friend Kendall Jigsaw, whose tragic passing has rocked the whole music community in Second Life.
As always, the end came far too quickly. Holly finished off with "Hungry Eyes (Thighs?)" - my own personal favourite !
By the time Holly left the stage the Amount Donated had risen to an incredible 322k !!!
Fly
by Michael
Video by Kandy
Putri Solo was scheduled to take the next slot, but owing to a last minute cancellation we were able to enjoy the violin sensation FLY!
FLY has been away from Second Life for some time now and that made this reappearance all the more welcome.
Tune after wonderful tune flowed from Fly's violin as she held her audience with such classics as Hey Jude, House Of The Rising Sun (what an amazing rendition!), finishing off with a classical rendition of "Phantom Of The Opera"
What an amazing set - welcome back to Second Life FLY!!
ARRA
by Valana
Video by Kandy
The TAO team has been busily preparing for the Christmas Music Festival starting today. Winter, Holly, and their team have outdone themselves in planning, executing, and decorating for the event. The Main Stage is fantastic.
ARRA took the TAO stage at 7 am SLT. Starting her show with "Baby Please Don't Go" by Tiktok. Then, performing about fifteen songs total, among these were an original song, a duet, performed with Meeshy, " I Wantcha."; "All About That Bass" by Meghan Trainor; and the "Macarena" by Los Del Rios ( I was pleased to be able to use my dance finally). She finished her performance with "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen.
Performing with the confidence and spirit of a true rock star, Arra's powerful voice and exuberant energy spread through the crowd like wildfire. Thank you for sharing your wonderful gift of song for the children.
BG Singer
by Maggie
Video by Kandy
Upon entering The TAO Festival, I'm suddenly filled with the Christmas spirit! The place looks like a Winter Wonderland. The crowd is filled with many people joining for just one cause, to put a smile on a child's face! Looking around at all the people, you can feel that this event is not only assuring a child has a smile on their face this holiday season but each & e'ryone in attendance has a smile! How wonderful it is to see so many generous souls reminding us the reason of the season!
Suddenly BG takes the stage, and it's apparent this festive event is far from over! He starts off this set with Jingle Bell Rock! What a wonderful way to kick off this great hour! Then he belts out a crowd fave, Johnny B Good! And the crowd goes wild. I was expecting the snow to begin to melt from all the friction of the pixels shaking!
The request lines open and BG does his rendition of Long Cool Woman by The Hollies, The Piano Man by Billy Joel, someone in the crowd is expecting snow in their area so they request Margarittaville by Jimmy Buffet to chase away ol Jack Frost.
The crowd is continually jumping on the donation train and the goal BG set for his hour has been achieved by halftime! BG kicks off the second half with Roy Orbison's Pretty Woman. Followed by Bill Wither's Lean On Me. BG finishes the hour with Rod Stewart's Tonight's The Night and a big band's version of Santa Claus Is Coming To Town! What a fun and festive hour! If you haven't made it TAO's Feed A Smile event yet, you should for they're partying all weekend!
Tillen Avers
by Michael
Video by Kandy
Next up was Tillen - and with the snow still falling the sensational Russian songstress took over the stage. The first time I encountered Tillen was at the TAO Summer event and I remember how she completely blew me away then with her amazing strong voice and vocal range.
As she launched into her opening number, Bohemian Rhapsody, I knew nothing had changed - she was as good as I remembered - possibly even better. Keeping up the high energy level, Tillen powered her way through an awesome varied set - moving seamlessly from rock to ballads and everything in between, whilst all the time gently reminding her audience why we are all here and to give generously to the wonderful cause.
Normally I would attempt to single out the best songs in a set - the ones I loved the most - but with Tillen I find this impossible. From the first not to the last her whole performance was superb. I loved every moment. In a nutshell, Tillen is one of the handful of performers in Second Life I would gladly pay good money to see in RL - she really is that good!
Katia Portugal
by Taila
Video by Kandy
After I finally had the weekend and hurried home from work, I threw myself into my Christmas outfit and my TP naturally led me to the long-awaited TAO Christmas Festival. Immediately I got into the right winter mood, you just have to look around how magically everything was decorated and you can feel the love behind it immediately.
I looked for a place among the many visitors and at that moment it started to snow, which perfected the Christmas atmosphere! Now I wish I had dressed a little warmer. Only one thing helped against the cold, dancing! So I danced the whole beautiful evening.
Exactly at 10 am, Katia came on stage in a wonderful red nutcracker costume, she was already the 6th singer on today's day and the audience welcomed her with warm applause.
After she thanked Tillen, who was on stage in front of her, and told us how happy she is to be able to support this wonderful charity, she also welcomed Luna, her host, and all guests for the coming hour with: Lets feed those smiles!
Katia sang some wonderful Christmas songs and also fulfilled the wishes of the audience, even if one or the other song was not one of her favorites, she did this in her unmistakable sympathetic way by changing texts and taking breaks to talk to the guests and hers To make jokes. She is so creative and amiable, her natural blunt humor and charm reach everyone and it is just a pleasure to see her on stage.
This woman is full of power and between her grandiose interpreted songs, she repeatedly asked the audience to donate, which at the end of her show had already exceeded the first goal of 450K L. Thank you Katia that was a wonderful pleasure!
Inkaku Capalini
by Taila
Video by Kandy
Inkaku entered the stage next, in her knitted outfit with ice skates, she slid gracefully across the stage and not only showed us her extraordinary vocal skills, but she also brought us wonderful Christmas songs that made us dream and sing along. Host Trishia and a band consisting of Sher and Beast, who support her wonderfully on her show, were on stage with her.
With her request: digg deep, she got the audience to donate and to outdo each other. Great!
With her wonderfully strong voice, she belted out one song after the other and got the audience in the right mood for a party.
Her not only Christmas songs:
Shake Up Christmas
Jingle Bell Rock
Twistin 'The Night Away
I want a hippopotamus for Christmas
Baby it's cold outside
Rockin around the christmas tree
Santa baby
Winter wonderland
Rock this town
Tush
Peaceful easy feeling
It was so much fun, it was just a pleasure to follow the conversations of the guests, who all enjoyed it as much as I did. The great music got the last one in the right winter party and dance mood and the time with Inkaku passed too quickly.
Marqs DeSade
by Aqua
Video by Kandy
Marq DeSade . That's a name that has long been in my music secondlife since opening a club a while back. One of those names 'UP' there , a name I have held in Awe for a long time , and now here I was, having the privilege of writing a blog about this amazing artist at 'Together as One' a fund raising event to help the children organised by WINTER and his partner Holly Giles and the 'TAO' team.
The setting is a magical Winter Wonderland full of snowmen , Elves and of course Santa . As you land , you hop on a reindeer led Sleigh that takes you right to the stage.
Marqs was on stage dressed in an elegant ruby red velvet jacket and matching Santa hat.
Marqs sang a selection of songs including one he wrote himself called Christmas Lullabye ,at a time when we were all in the grip of the Covid pandemic and most of us were unable to see our family and friends. A beautiful touching song.
Marqs DeSade has a strong passionate voice that catches you form the first moment you hear him. He will have you under his spell.
Marqs has been a songwriter since he began playing. His songs come from the experiences of life, and most listeners "find themselves" in his songs. They speak to the feelings and experiences we all share.. love, heartache, joy, loss, life, death..
Marqs has a passion for music - listening, writing, recording, performing it, and it shows everytime you ae lucky enough to hear him.
Chillee Hernandez
by Michael
Next up was Chillee Hernandez - an artist I had never seen before.
Chillee has a wonderful bubbly personality guaranteed to captivate any audience.
Tonight Chillee gave us the mellow "feeling good" kind of set that fit so well at this time towards the end of Day One
Nice set Chillee!
Max Kleene
by Michael
So finally on Day One of this magnificent three day event onto the stage came the consummate professional Max Kleene.
Over the years nobody has been more willing to donate their time to charitable causes than this exceptional Canadian performer!
Tonight Max gave us a wonderful medley of Christmas songs - all sung in his inimitable style - high energy, professional, never a wrong note.
His friendly relaxed style fits soo well with his warm acoustic guitar. Wonderful!
SATURDAY
Sponsors
Angelikus Deo
by Valana
Video by Kandy
Angelikus Deo Live at TAO (Together As One) Christmas Festival 2021
We are here on day two of the Tao Christmas Festival. Yesterday was a fantastic day. So many talented artists and fans came out to support the children's charity "Feed A Smile." As of 4 am this morning, the total Lindens donated was over 600K. Outstanding job!
Angelikus Deo was the first onstage this morning, 5 am SLT. Starting her set with "I Want Your Love" by Lady Gaga; Among others, she rocked the house with "Come Together" by the Beatles - Gary Clark Jr. version. Finishing with her signature good-bye song "Ready to Go" by Republica.
Angel brought so much energy to the stage this morning, and it was infectious as it spread out over the crowd. Everyone celebrated at reaching the 15000 Linden Goal.
Thank you for donating your time and sharing with us this morning, despite being ill and somewhat hoarse. You sounded amazing! I know you say it is "All about the rock."; but this morning, you were all about the children.
Silverlight Gypsyheart
by Michael
Video by Kandy
Next up was the wonderful Silverlight Gypsyheart, someone I have always considered one of the sexiest performers in Second Life, and and owner of the legendary Spirit Of The Outback music venue.
True to form Silver smashed straight into her set with a rousing, hip swivelling, version of Thin Lizzy's Whiskey In The Jar and had the audience rockin right from the off.
Silver's performance was a wonderful mix of rock standards, interlaced with her fine renditions of some all-time Christmas favourites. She always has this amazinbg rapport with her audience and this came shining through once more as she urged and cajoled and the donations came pouring in.
Another fine show from one of the true entertainers of Second Life!
Stinna
by Taila
Video by Kandy
Barefoot as always, the pretty Dane Stinna is on stage. With her there is Diamondz as her host, who was at her side during this hour.
She names everyone who supports this charity, which is very nice, because without all these sponsors, such a festival would not be possible.
Her first song was the sea shanty song: Wellerman!
As usual, she brings wonderful, idyllic, Irish and Nordic songs to the stage. With her clear and high voice, these songs fit her perfectly and show again and again how much love she has for her north.
She sings Irish folk tunes that were unknown to me until then, but which fit wonderfully into the wonderfully designed winter landscape and of course she also brought us the beloved Christmas songs.
Rock around the christmas tree
Because the night
Barbie girl
Do they know it's Christmas
Mary's Boy Child
Let it snow
Does your mother know
Can you feel the love tonight
Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer
Shortly before the end of the show, the goal of 650K Linden had long been achieved.
Stinnas pure and beautiful voice and her gentle being was such a pleasure to listen to and touched me very much.
And when she sang her last song Merry Christmas Everyone, everyone was so happy to have achieved the goal ... and you could feel the love, the meaning of Christmas everywhere!
Seren McGillvary
by Maggie May
Video by Kandy
Upon walking into TAO's Feed A Smile Christmas event again this morning its apparent the festival is still in full swing on it's second day. The snow is still falling but you don't seem to notice as the warmth of e'ryone gathered greets you as you enter. There's so much activity and fun going on. People are taking advantage of the shopping and many raffles as the performer of the hour sings aloud on stage.
Seren McGillvary is the performer this hour. She opens her set with Halestorm's Rock Show and its clear to see she is here to rock. And rock she did!
Her choice in songs was equally proportioned between rock and roll and a generous helping of christmas tunes, enough to whet the appetite of any patron in the crowd. To give just a sample, she sang an all-time favorite of any rocker, Joan Jett's I Love Rock And Roll, followed by Brenda Lee's Rocking Around The Christmas Tree and the great Chuck Berry's Run Rudolph Run. Unfortunately for me, Mother Nature decided to shake her bum too, knocking out my net, so I missed the last few moments of her set. But I was informed that she had met the goal she has set for herself and after all that's been said and done that's all that really matters.
I'm just humbled to have been asked to partake a small part in this great cause, reminding me just how generous this live music community is, not just with their talents but also with their time and efforts to making this world we live in, no matter what part of the world you may be, a better and kinder place! Now that's a lot to smile about!
Djembe Dragonfire
by Valana
Video by Kandy
Wow, we are on day two of the TAO Christmas Festival benefiting the children's charity, Feed A Smile. It has been a great day of music and entertainment today. Thank you to Angelikus, who jump-started our day at 5 am, followed by Silverlight, Stinna, and Seren.
Djembe went on stage at 9 am SLT. Performing a mixture of show tunes and Christmas songs, including "Pure Imagination" by Scott Chapman; "Let It Snow" by Disney, Lucas Grabeel. In addition, he sang his version of the "Twelve Days of Christmas." Which referred to gifts such as drama queens, laggy sims, alphas failing, sims lagging, and restarts. It was pretty humorous.
Djembe used his strong, bold, confident voice and good humor to entertain us today. We also met another 15k Linden dollar goal. As of 10 am, we have raised over 682K!
We appreciate you donating your time and sharing your extraordinary voice and talent with us today at TAO for the kids. Thank you!
Paul Nowles
by Valana
Video by Kandy
It has been a great day here in Black Dragon, on the TAO stage as the Christmas Music Festival continues to raise money for the children's charity "Feed A Smile." The generosity of Second Life residents is touching, proving that there are still generous, caring people in this world during such a difficult time in our lives.
Paul Knowles took the stage at 10 am SLT, following Djembe. He sang about a dozen songs, many of our favorite rock songs and ballads, "Old Time Rock N Roll by Bob Seger."; "Midnight Blue" by Lou Gramm, and "Purple Rain" by Prince; "Chasing Cars" by Josh Dubovie. He also performed a Christmas song, "I Believe In Father Christmas," by the Wonderland Band.
Today, Paul came to the stage performing with a strong voice, good humor, and enthusiasm, showing his dedication to the music and the children. The board quickly "Rolled over 7k" at his request!
Thank you for taking the time to be with us and sharing your incredible voice with us, Paul!
Hedy Patrucci
by Aqua
Hedy Hedy! Oh What can I say about Hedy that I haven't already waxed lyrical about , Her Voice is quite simply Magic
Hedy came on stage in a black casual suit and wearing an impressive set of reindeer horns on her head , kicking off with 'Put a Little Love in Your Heart '
Hedy's voice is warm , soulful passionate and I LOVE it , For this show she gave us upbeat rockin dance music, classics like 'Shake Your Bon-Bon' , 'I Got The Music in me'
and ' Somethings got a hold one me '
This fantastic Dutch lady has a huge heart giving so much of her time to helping others such as TAO. Her shows are always filled with Wit and humor and kindness
"Music has always been my passion and always look forward to sharing my heart in songs" -Hedy
Hedy DOES share her heart . I've known this very, very special lady for a very long time , each time I hear her sing , it's a fresh experience which touches you to the core.
ŖŮVÏĻŸŅ ĠÄȚĊȞÏË
by Taila
Ruvilyn is next on stage, wearing a green reindeer costume and looking lovely. She leaves no doubt what we are all here for and the first thing she says before saying hello is: Our goal is 50k Linden! This is an announcement! The wonderful Tally is at her side as a host and Ruvi has even brought a band consisting of Sher and Marksi with her.
With her first song “Santa Baby” she enchants everyone with her fantastic voice.
Ruvilyn has so much fun singing and she can convey that so perfectly, the audience dance wildly and that's no wonder with the power this woman has and the songs she brought us with her.
At Toxic, there is no stopping it and the mood continues to rise immeasurably.
Again and again she fires on the crowd to donate and she doesn't miss a single thing that takes place in the audience. She follows the events attentively and full of joy, and she always keeps an eye on the amount of donations. Her laughter and gratitude are so contagious, plus the great songs that she sings wonderfully and soulfully.
After she really heated us all up, she sings some more soulful songs like: Never enough and since she couldn't decide which Adele song to sing, she immediately sang an Adele medley. The perfect choice because everyone loves Adele!
At the perfect end she sang Last Dance, a great song to end such a wonderful show!
Noma Falte
by Carmen
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Looking forward to hearing Noma. She always gives a powerful, soulful show. She starts out with a nice slow song, Never Tear Us Apart by INXS.
So enjoying this show! Noma always has a slow nice build up that then moves into a faster tempo. Now back to a slower tempo, a Etta James song this is one of my favorite, I'd rather go blind.
Noma generously donates 4K to Feed a Smile. On with some more blues, what a great show!
Noma had 40+ years of real world experience performing and has performed in sl for 12 years...it certainly shows!
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Agatha Nowles
by Taila
Agatha, another well-known singer, enters the TAO stage at 2pm and she starts right away with a wonderful pretender song that not only I like very much, also the numerous audience and her fans were entranced.
Tonight she sang a mix of calm and rhythmic songs such as the Santana song Smooth, Here comes the Rain again, California Dreamin, Desert Rose and some Abba songs, with which she was able to further heat up the party mood and in particular I have a Dream, was sung fantastically beautiful and suited the occasion perfectly.
With the title Sharp Dressed Man, which she dedicated to the recently deceased musician, Kendall Jigsaww, she reached many hearts. We all miss him very much and he was honored and remembered very often at this festival.
At the end she once again got the guests dancing and celebrating with the Shakira song Ojos así and the party guarantor Volare
Agatha's friendly and open-minded nature, her penchant for special jokes and her laughter are simply contagious for everyone. This in combination with her great singing talent and the perfect choice of songs makes her so special!
SUNDAY
Sponsors
Marina Sharpshire
by Valana
Video by Kandy
We have made it to the 3rd and final day of the music festival. It is almost 5 am SLT. Marina Sharpshire, who has kindly agreed to fill in for JPeabody, is getting ready to take the stream.
Marina sang thirteen songs beginning with "Rockin Around The Christmas Tree" by Brenda Lee. A fun song by Kacey Musgrave, "I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas." Also included was one of my favorites, "One Way Or Another" by Blondie; "Uptown Funk" by Mark Ronson; "Lips Are Movin" by Meghan Trainor. Finishing the hour with "There She Goes" by The La's.
Today was the first time I had heard Marina perform. She carries herself in a positive, friendly, and graceful manner. Her singing voice was clear, agile, and charismatic. But, don't be fooled; she can belt out a song!
Thank you for singing for us, Marina!
Jack Dryden
by Taila
Video by Kandy
Jack Dryden, the next one on the incredibly beautifully designed TAO stage, comes as a true Santa Claus with a cowboy hat. He carries a sack full of presents on his back and everyone could help themselves to their hearts' content.
As always, he brought us his beloved country music and some folk and pop songs, including those by Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, Charlie Daniels, Kris Kristofferson, Donovan, Chris Stapleton.
Merle Haggard's song Mama try, he dedicated with a little wink to his mother, who celebrated her birthday that day, and the Dire Straits song Brothers in Arms - he sang especially for Kendall Jigsaww, who unfortunately left us much too early and to him This TAO festival was also dedicated to honor.
After the enchanting original song that he wrote for his daughter, he ended his program with the classic From A Distance, in which we all once again realized what this festival stands for, and one or the other eye was also wet.
Wherever Jack is on stage, he enchants his audience with his incredibly beautiful and gentle voice, which comes out of him so naturally and without any effort. It is such a pleasure and a relief to listen to him and his warm and grateful manner is also reflected in his music, which comes from the soul. Incidentally, the 1 million mark in donations was blown during his show!
Mavenn
by Aqua
Video by Kandy
We are in 'Together As One' , fundraising for children ,The stage is alive with Dancing Elves and a train circling a stage piled high with presents .On one side is Santa at the piano with Mrs Claus looking fondly on.
Mavenn kicks off with ' Little Red Wagon' and gets us all singing along .She sang a collection of classics , chatting throughout her show regaling us with stories , snippets of information about Newfoundland where she hails from.
Mavenn always has such amazing style . For todays show she came on stage in pink and white Elf outfit wrapped around in Christmas fairy lights. Elf you say? Trust me, on Mavenn it's drop dead gorgeous , just like her stunning voice, She has SOUL !! It comes from deep inside her , sultry soul! SOUL!! Can't say it enough of Mavenn. SOUL pours out of her. Her voice is unique , sultry and husky
Mavenn entertains , her voice is stunning, her laugh is delightful. She is quite simply Amazing , Love her:)
Meeshy
by Aqua
Video by Kandy
I'd never heard Meeshy , what!! WHAT!! Where have I been , ?
He exploded into his set at ' Together as One', grabbing your attention from the first moment he leapt onto the Festive stage . Meeshy is so high energy. He sang a wide selection of songs including 'Thunder' and ' No Woman No Cry' and It's like That'
Meeshy is from Amsterdam,Netherlands where he was the drummer for two metal bands for about 20 years he brings an energy and fun to every set that people just can't help getting caught up in and enjoying themselves
'From rock to rap, ballards, to current day pop, Meeshy not only sings something for everyone, he brings an energy and fun to every set that people just can't help getting caught up in and enjoying themselves
He is with his Real life and secondlife partner , the singer ARRA and he did several amazing duets with ARRA
Bart Hoorenbeek
by Aqua
Video by Kandy
Bart comes on to the Christmas Stage with 'I still got The Blues for You ' that is captivating and instantly calls attention to his fantastic guitar playing ability and his soulful voice is in just the right tone and has just the right amount of grit to it.
Bart sang a selection of songs including ' Driving Home for Christmas and 'Deck the Halls with Boughs of Holly:)
His sounds make it feel like a REAL blues concert! The warm guitar tones and the way Bart strums the guitar bring a wave of emotion to an already vibrant crowd. Bart did a version of Pink Floyd's - Money, and my heart started going pitter-patter! Bart has a smooth style and is one of the best musicians on the grid.
He did this slid guitar thing that was crazy, crazy good!! I'm telling you, this man can play; the tone, the picking, everything about it is just fantastic!
He finished his show at 'Together As One 'with a classic called ' Sultans of Swing'
Kris Composer
by Valana
Video by Kandy
Here I am writing my last blog for Christmas TAO 2021. The weekend has been a rollercoaster ride. So much work and chaos only to be canceled out by great music, laughter, and socializing with old friends while making a few new ones. But, Everyone comes together with one goal, to give to the children. It is about 10 am SLT right now; we have collected over 108 million Lindens. That is teamwork! As a TAO Sponsor and Toggle For Music writer, I am proud to have been part of it.
Kris Composer took over the stream at 10 am, following Bart Hoorenbeek. Immediately, setting a goal to raise 15k Lindens, offering a free show, private or public, to the highest contributor during his performance. As well as promising to sing songs he considered not to be, let's say, NOT right for him. Those numbers quickly rolled!
Kris sang about twelve songs, starting with "Double Vision" by Foreigner. Then, he sang the bribery song "You Spin Me Around" by Dead or Alive. Among others, "I'll be Watching You" by Sting, " Every Rose Has a Thorn" by Poison, and finishing the hour with "Enjoy The Silence" by Depeche Mode.
Kris used his incredible voice, humor, charisma, and even a little bribery to encourage donations for the kids shamelessly. Thank you!!
Lexus Melodie
by Taila
Video by Kandy
Even after having spent a lot of time at this place, I am still very fascinated by the winter landscape and every little detail that was decorated with so much love that it all seems so realistic and dreamlike to me that I imagine to smell the smell of fried almonds and apples.
Lexus Melody fits perfectly into this beautiful landscape. The pretty British girl is next to take the stage with her guitar and in a Christmas red dress, in keeping with this Christmas festival.
The song Last Christmas, which I've heard countless times and still like, was Lexus' first of many Christmas songs that she performed to us in her very own way and a new version emerged from it.
Other songs were: Please come home for Christmas, It's Christmas once again, Do they know it's christmas, Merry Christmas Everyone, Santa Baby, Silent Night Holy Night, all i want for christmas is you.
The song: Grandma got run over by a reindeer, which I didn't know until then, only stopped when the donation goal was reached. She was visibly relieved, and so were some of the audience. 😉
I just love Lexus' voice, she has her very own style with her warm, slightly rough voice and her incredible talent to make every song her own and to accompany it on the guitar. This amiable natural singer-songwriter changes the lyrics spontaneously and obviously enjoys sharing her music with us, which she transferred to everyone in the audience.
Gary Jonstone
by Taila
Gary Jonstone is completely committed to a love of country music. For several years he has been one of the best and most famous singers in SL and has brought his large fan base with him to support this wonderful charity.
Shirtless in jeans with a sitting Mini Grinch on his shoulder, he stands on stage defying the cold. This nice sight certainly made it very warm for some of the guests in the audience.
From the very first notes he sang, everyone was fascinated by what a perfect voice this man has. His song list was: Cody Jinks - Last Call For The Blues, Johnny Cash - Ring Of Fire, Brothers Osborne - It Ain't My Fault that is awesome, Blake Shelton - Hillbilly Bone, Brad Paisley - Ticks, Toby Keith - I Love This Bar, Jake Owen - Yee Haw, Jake Owen - Made For You, Zac Brown Band- Toes- Man of constant sorrow.
Wow, Gary has such a great deep, warm voice that it takes your breath away. This voice couldn't be better suited to his country music and reflects the pure masculinity these songs contain. Even if you haven't been a big fan of this music yet, Gary has certainly made you curious to visit one of his next shows, where I will definitely be to be found.
Aley Kat
by Michael
And so - the penultimate act of these awesome 3 days was AleyKat - and who better to round off this wonderful than AleyKat ! By now the records had been broken - the money had been made - and here was Aleykat - smashing out her amazing repertoire of songs - filling the place like no other before her had done.
And what a show she gave us ! Lurching from upbeat pop to soft ballads and then rounding off with a smattering of Christmas classics - this is Second Life entertainment at its very best !
Thank you Aleykat - once again you have risen to the occasion and blown our minds!
Winter
by Taila
A long, exciting, successful but at the same time contemplative weekend is drawing to a close. As always, Winter is the last musician to step onto the TAO stage to end the festival. While he takes the stage in his modern Santa Claus costume with Luna, Liam and Olde and Lekaat is already standing by as the host, I see 102 visitors on the map, which is just unbelievable.
You can hear his guitar very softly on Little Drummer Boy, which sounds very uplifting and slowly becomes louder and more expressive, a wonderful, almost mystical effect. With that he begins his concert and a Christmas carol medley from the songs: Santa Claus is comming to town / Rockin around the christmas tree / Run Rudolph Run and Jingle Bell Rock.
During his performance he crashed a few times but it didn’t affect his fabulous pure voice and his, as usual, terrific playing on the guitar. Maybe that's characteristic of winter, what he sets out to pull through no matter what hurdles are put in his way and with the support above all from Holly, who also did incredible things as usual and all of his friends, he always creates records set up and do so much good with it.
He thanked every single one of his helpers, the sponsors, the musicians, the hosts and of course, last but not least, all the visitors who, through their donations, have reached this unbelievable amount of almost 1.5 million L $ for Feed a Smile.
The second half of his show he sang his usual and beloved rock tracks:
Bon Jovi - One Wild Night (which he dedicated to his recently deceased friend Kendall Jigsaww) / Michael Jackson - Man in the Mirror / Blind Guardian - The Bard Song / Sonata Arctica - I Have A Right / White Lion - When The Children Cry / Disturbed - A Reason To Fight / GooGoo Dolls - Iris.
Winter with his great musical talent, his unique strong voice and his extraordinary personality are a great asset and a gift for the SL music scene.
As always, it was a great pleasure to be able to take part in this beautiful charity, 3 days full of great artists, people, music, good humor and lots and lots of love. Thank you winter, thank you Holly and the whole TAO team!
A Final Word From the Man!!
TOGETHER AS ONE WE CAN MAKE A CHANGE!!
What an amazing 3 day Weekend!! What an Amazing 2 weeks actually with all the Meet & Greets and everything else!!
I am truly honored & humbled by all of you who came to the event, showed love, support, participated and /or even posted a little something about us on your Facebook pages or Blogs!
With all the Craziness, Cancellations, Stress, Problems, tears of Joy and all the incredible moments we had throughout these 2 weeks, here we are today speechless and amazed at what we ALL did together.
YES my friends, we DID set a new TAO Record and Broke a LOT of OTHER ones in the process! (Just ask Brique Zeiner!! haahahahah)
I cannot believe what an amount we raised in just 3 days! O.O
ALL in honor of a great person and awesome performer, who has always supported and stood with us at Together As One, the Late GREAT Kendall Jigsaww!
Firstly I want to thank the Amazing TAO Team!
Holly Giles , Manager and Raffles coordinator!
Bibi Woodfordi, Market Manager and TAO Photographer!
Kissi Tulips, After Party Floor Manager!
Without you, TAO is NOT possible! You guys do and have done a Tremendous Job spending lots of time and money to do this! So Whole Heartedly, THANK YOU!
Thank you to the 2 women who bring FEED A SMILE to us!
Mrs. Brique Zeiner and Mrs. Sunray Moonites!
WE, as in ALL of SL, are grateful that you brought FEED A SMILE to us, so we can try to do what we can and help in our own little way, to provide food for these unfortunate families and help the children!
THANK YOU for being so kind Hearted! Thank you for being YOU!
To our Sponsors!! YOU have shown TOGETHER AS ONE so much Love that I have no way of ever being able to properly thank you! It is not just the Donations and all, but all the After Parties and your will to offer and do MORE to raise that amount for FEED A SMILE is just overwhelmingly humbling. You ALL went out of your way to go above and beyond a simple “sponsorship” so for this, THANK YOU!
Our MAIN Sponsors were:
Pangea Estates and Illy!
Vside Radio Streams and Scots Paul & Mandy Vortex!
Glow Live Music and Panjana Claudia Embacher!
Terry’s Place and Ninja!
Synful Club and Spirit Sapphire!
Mystic Dragon and Cal & Ava Cambridge!
Denim & Diamonds and Levi Sawyer!
Our Sponsors of the Day were:
Bugatti’s and Luscious Chyanne Giano and Maddie G Rebel Rowley, A V A T A R & Chip Harmony!
SHEWORTHY Pub and Annie Chun Annie Panties & Hitomi Tamatzui!
LoveSpell and Valana Spencer!
Janus Gallery and Chuckmatrix Clip & Jewel!
Thank you to ALL the AWESOME Performers that donated their time, money and shared with us their skill and talent! You are part of the TAO Family and we are SO happy to have you ALL with us! We ALSO want to THANK YOU ALL who stepped up in our time of need and did what you did!
At the core, Together As One (TAO) is a Music Festival that brings us all together for a good cause while having fun!
So I want to thank the CORE of the Festival, the performers!
Holly Giles, Fly Kugin, Arra L. Nagtegaal, BG Singer (Brian Garrett), Tillen Avers, Katia-Kaja Portugal, Inkaku Capalini, Marq Sanders Marqs DeSade, Chillee Odia Chillee Hernandoz, Max Kleene, Angelikus Deo, Silver Light, Stinna Sky, Seren McGillivary, Djembe Dragonfire Scott Leary, Paul Nowles Paul Miller, Hedy Patrucci, Ruvi Gatchie, Noma Falta Noma Vallery Barbin, Agatha Nowles, Marina Sharpshire, Jack Dryden, Mavenn Rhonda Hoffman, Meeshy Nagtegaal, Bart Hoorenbeek, Kris Composer, Lexus Melodie, Gary Jonstone, Aley Kat, Winter Winters, DJ Luscious, Dj Ebill EbilKitty Resident, John Hogman, Aaron Cabott Jones, Ricky Capone, Prettybelle, Shantu Selene, Liam Maddox Killamar, Jamie DownUnder, Mae Loved, Jaquee Parx, Bo W Shim, DJ Matrix, Mimi Carpenter Mialy Carpenter!
To our Toastie Hosties with the ABSOLUTE mosty! We, all Performers and TAO staff do what we do, but without you to complete us it wouldn’t be possible! THANK YOU for ALL your Hard Work, Dedication and Love you have shown at TAO for FEED A SMILE! YOU TRULY are AMAZING and were Vital for the success of this event!
THANK YOU to:
Whisp Ampan Whisper, Diamondz Diaz Jaxx, Luna Rose Amethyst, Trish Oconnell, Arttease Resident, Lakey Bravin, Tally Nirvana & Leknaat Ruby!
Thank you SO Much to ALL the Market Store Owners who rented a store and Showed Love to TAO!!
WE WISH YOU SOLD A MILLION LINDENS!!
Thank you to ALL the Raffle Donators! Thank you for donating your time and Talent with us! YOU TOO have made a HUGE difference!!
THANK YOU TO UNIQUE OBSESSIONS!
For making an AMAZING one of a kind Present for our Christmas Hunt!
Lunaria Eclipse and Tremayne Barbosa you guys Freaking ROCK!!
Thank you To ALL the media and Bloggers that Showed Love to TAO!! THANK YOU for all the exposure and posts you have done for us! You TRULY have pushed TAO so much, advertising us with everything that you could, that we are SO Grateful for EVERYTHING!
Thank you to Toggle For Music!
Michaelj Rossini, Taila Saenz, Kandy Kyong,Eve Willowind(Aqua), Valana Spencer, Carmen Cardone, Maggie May and the rest of the AWESOME Crew and Team. You have showed us SO much love we have no words!
Thank you to Droppin the Stream!
Trish Oconnell, Neo, Harlow Davi and everyone else that’s part of this team! We appreciate you ALL and thank you for all the exposure!
Special Shout out to our very close friends: Olde Eldemar Liam Maddox Killamar and Luna Rose Amethyst
For all the hard work and support you showed us in your own ways and making this a little easier for us!
Thank you to Cathy Kærann for making a GREAT promo video!
Thank you to the awesome venues and places that put a TAO poster up! We appreciate you guys more than you know!
FINALLY LAST but DEFINITELY NOT LEAST!!!
Not by ANY means!!
The Amazing TAO Fans! YOU are all WHY Together As One is a success every time! YOU come to us, YOU Show love and Donate; YOU support us ALWAYS, YOU Show up at the Shows, shop at the stores, and enter the raffles. So… to YOU! CHEERS!! THANK YOU!! AND WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!
TOGETHER AS ONE we shall see you again in Four and a Half Months FOR TAO Easter 2022!
Nothing but LOVE
Winter