Waterloo High School will soon host a concert featuring some big country talent, with students getting involved to organize the event and aid a local charity.

Featuring artist Craig Campbell and longtime St. Louis Cardinal-turned- country artist Adam Wainwright, proceeds for the event will go toward Monroe County House of Neighborly Service.

WHS Principal Tim McDermott and guidance counselor Robert Lohman recently shared details about the event that is set to take place in March.

Per McDermott, this concert is the sort of learning opportunity he has been looking to put together since he began his administrative career at the school.

“When I was hired as an administrator, Mr. Lohman and I started talking about ways to help students build connections and to connect the school to the community, and that dialogue and conversation has continued, really, the last couple years,” McDermott said.

The broad concept of building connections between students and the community evolved over the years into a benefit concert for HNS.

The concert itself has largely come to fruition thanks to Lohman and his connections.

McDermott noted how Lohman’s musician brother Greg served as a guest speaker at WHS at the start of the year, talking about the importance of hard work and connections in the music industry.

Lohman explained how Greg has a history with Campbell that has helped Lohman make a connection.

Back in 2017, Lohman brought in Campbell for an event at The Falls in Columbia to benefit HNS, which helped as a foundation for the upcoming concert.

Lohman’s work with Campbell came about, as he described, thanks to the artist’s heart.

“I always believe that good can come from bad, and my brother was almost killed in a car wreck in 2013,” Lohman said. “One of the first people that reached out was Craig, because my brother had played a lot with him… I was just so impressed with the man, the good human being that he was, that I wanted to celebrate his goodness by paying him to perform here with all the money to go to charity.”

Lohman said he had also gotten in touch with Wainwright through Campbell amid that 2017 event. The two artists being friends, they have both evidently been quite positive about coming together for the March concert here in Monroe County.

As Lohman and McDermott described, support from the community has already been exceptional, with sponsorships from Dietrich Bank, Reliable Sanitation, Luhr Bros., Monroe County Electric Cooperative and Monica Schmidt Group Realty allowing the funds to hire Campbell and Wainwright.

Lohman and McDermott also emphasized the concert is meant to be a project with WHS students at its center.

Though much of the initial organization has been done by the two of them, McDermott said they’ll now be turning to students and teachers to get involved in planning some of the further details of the event.

McDermott further explained that they hope to have students with different specialties and interests handle different elements of the production, grabbing from the fine arts department to participate in designing the stage, for instance.

Lohman and McDermott also said the artists and their management have spoken positively about the idea of the high school’s music department getting involved in the performance themselves.

Some English students with a particular interest in journalistic writing are also set to speak with Campbell and Wainwright for interviews to help promote the event.

McDermott said he hopes to have students involved to help them build on what they might be learning or doing in class, though he also generally hopes for them to benefit from the experience of helping put together such a large event.

“In my mind, probably equally as important as benefitting the community is getting students the opportunity to have some real-world learning experiences while also learning the value of giving back to those in the community,” McDermott said.

When it comes to who the concert is meant to benefit, the place of HNS as such a prominent charity in the community makes it a natural fit for this sort of event, though Lohman also made the point that two individuals with strong ties to the organization – Kelly Lerch and Toni Miller – were added to the WHS Legacy Wall this year, making the charity choice even more fitting.

“It was a nice way to honor and celebrate their legacy here, sharing what they’ve done with House of Neighborly Service,” Lohman said.

Both Lohman and McDermott were quite hopeful about the opportunity this event will be for students and the good it will do in the community.

“We have two great people that are friends that are looking forward to performing, and we’re excited to get the kids involved,” Lohman said. “They’re already starting to do that some. The community, sponsorships have been absolutely fantastic and so well received. This is just such a generous, kind community that supports the school and each other. It’s been a lot of fun, and we haven’t even started yet.”

McDermott expressed a similar sentiment, noting how there is already much anticipation for the event.

“It’s exciting to see the community and teacher excitement, and now bringing the students in will be the next step,” McDermott said.

Taking place March 22, the event will feature performances in the WHS auditorium in both the afternoon and evening.

Ticket sales will be opening soon, with the school providing updates in the weeks to come.

While many in this portion of Cardinal Country know Wainwright as the retired 200-win starting pitcher for St. Louis, he  released his debut country album “Hey Y’All” in April. 

Wainwright’s musical journey has already included a debut at the Grand Ole Opry and an opening slot for Zac Brown Band at Chaifetz Arena in St. Louis.