CONTRIBUTED PHOTO - Jason Brown will host a concert in Marshalltown this summer to benefit the Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

Country music singer Jason Brown will host a summer concert to benefit the Veterans Memorial Coliseum renovation project.

Brown’s Along The Way Tour will take place July 6 outside the coliseum on State Street, with the funds raised to benefit the coliseum’s rebuilding efforts. A fundraising celebration will include food, beverages, activities for all ages and a concert by Iowa native Jason Brown.

“I’m thrilled about this,” Marshalltown Mayor Joel Greer said. “I’ve gotten to know Jason through the taping of the (promotional) videos and he is such a nice, engaging, interesting guy. And man can he sing.”

Greer said the goal of this event is to raise at least $150,000 to $200,000 toward the $1.35 million private fundraising effort. He hopes the event will draw 2,500 to 5,000 attendees.

The Community Foundation of Marshall County has pledged $100,000 to support the rebuilding campaign and the Martha-Ellen Tye Foundation has dedicated a sum of $400,000 in a matching grant to the efforts.

“We are very excited to have Jason Brown take a genuine and heart-felt interest in the Veterans Memorial Coliseum and want to be part of our fundraising efforts,” City Administrator Jessica Kinser said.

Built nearly 90 years ago, the Veterans Memorial Coliseum was a memorial to Marshalltown residents who had fought in and/or lost their lives in the Civil War, Spanish War and World War I. It has provided space for numerous functions for the community over the years.

During the tornado, 45 children and counselors at the summer day camp were inside the coliseum when the tornado ripped the roof off the building. No one was injured. However, the building sustained other damages, including the fire water sprinklers running for hours after the storm passed. The roof was repaired in fall 2018 and the interior was stripped to its studs to help dry it out.

The building in its current state is not suitable for activities, but it has been declared structurally sound. The city projects the project will cost $3.6 million and part of the funds will come from insurance money after damage from the tornado.

Donate directly to the coliseum at www.marshalltown-ia.gov/673/Veterans-Memorial-Coliseum-Fundraising-C or mail a check to Veterans Memorial Coliseum Fund, 24 N. Center St., Marshalltown, Iowa 50158.

About Brown

Brown has charted five songs consistently on the Billboard and MediaBase Country Charts including “Momma Was A Rebel,” “Touchdown,” “I’d Love You To Hate Me,” “You Don’t Play Fair” and “We’re All In The Same Boat.”

“I love to see towns working together for a common goal. There are several rebuilding projects going on in Marshalltown and we felt like this project is important for getting all ages and the town as a whole,” Brown said.

A schedule of the concert will be announced in the coming weeks. For more information, reach out to Andy Erickson at 321-246-4819 or Andy@RedNoise6.com. This concert is part of the 2019 Series of the Along The Way Tour — a concert series that benefits small towns in need.

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Contact Sara Jordan-Heintz at 641-753-6611 or sjordan@timesrepublican.com