Richie Supa and Other Rock Veterans Celebrate Young at Art Museum's Gala

It's Friday, you're a good person, and you love rock and roll. So slap on some leather and lace and come bang your head at the Young at Art Museum’s Fourth annual Gala: ROCK the House with YAA! The event, aside from benefiting some great causes, will feature top-notch musicians. 

The “Leather and Lace” themed gala will be raising money for the Davie museum, which offers numerous art classes for children, as well as the Face the Music Foundation, which is committed to helping people struggling with substance abuse. Face the Music has an ongoing relationship with the museum, says singer-songwriter and Plantation resident Richie Supa, one of the gala's headliners.

Richie Supa is an old school rock icon. Supa was in Aerosmith, and has written music for artists like Pink, Johnny Winter, Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora and Ozzy Osbourne. He and Ricky Byrd — who played the famous roaring guitar chords on Joan Jett and the Blackhearts' “I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll” — performed at the Face the Music's first fundraiser back in March at YAA. In exchange for the museum letting Supa use its facility at no charge, he agreed to bring his “Supa” group to the gala. The group, which includes Supa, Byrd, bassist Muddy Shews of Southside Johnny & the Asbury Dukes, and violinist Randi Fishenfeld of the Blue Fire Band, will be playing plenty of classic rock tunes tonight. “We play together a bunch of times a year, so we just send each other song lists and we just go for it,” says Supa.

Along with the headlining entertainment, there will be auctions, plenty of hands-on art activities, cocktails, and food.

Byrd, who was inducted just last week into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Blackhearts, believes the arts are a major factor in keeping kids off the streets, including him.

“Music in schools, art in schools — all those programs are being slashed,” says Byrd, who tries to raise money in New York once or twice a year to keep musical instruments in schools. “Imagine if the people you listen to didn’t have any kind of programs in schools. They might not have taken that direction.”
But Byrd says people like him, Supa, and the rest of the group that have been in the arts for years are always ready to do benefits to raise money for school arts programs.

“Every child should be exposed to art and music,” Supa says.

That philosophy is one we can all rock out to. 

Young at Art Museum’s Fourth annual Gala with Richie Supa, Ricky Byrd, and others. 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 24, at Young at Art Museum, 751 SW 121st Ave., Davie. Tickets cost $250 for non museum members, and $200 for members. Visit youngatartmuseum.org or call 954-424-5018 for more info.