The 2025 Rock For Ronnie In Support of The Stand Up And Shout Dio Cancer Fund
The Autry Museum, Los Angeles, CA – 5/18/2025
Review/Pics: Will
Let’s start with this…
Now why would I start with a concert setlist from 1984, you ask? Well this show at the Antrim Forum in Northern Ireland, was my very first concert. Dio on the Last in Line tour. This is the concert that cemented my love for not just the band and the man, but for rock and metal and live music in general.
Fast forward (cough) 41 years and once again I had the opportunity to celebrate the man, the myth, the legend… Ronnie James Dio.
A beautiful Sunday in the park at the Autry Museum in Griffith Park was the setting for the 2025 Rock for Ronnie Fundraiser and Concert.
The annual event this year was headlined by none other than Sebastian Bach and included performances from Anita Squeeze, Jason Charles Miller, Count’s 77, Kill Devil Hill, Dio Disciples and was capped off with an All-Star Jam.
This year Ahmet Zappa took over the MC duties and did an amazing job at keeping the crowd thoroughly entertained during the set changes as well as during the raffles and awards.
I really enjoyed the setting for the event this year. A great location that included plenty of space for the large stage. As well, the vendors, merch booths, Auction and Raffle stalls and food trucks were well positioned to allow a smooth flow of traffic. (And not to mention, ample, easy parking).
The day started off a little bit late due to a longer than expected SoundCheck from Sebastian Bach, but as the crowds started to make their way in to the venue, they were greeted by opening band…
Anita Squeeze
Anita Squeeze are a local act fronted by original Warrant guitarist, Josh Lewis. The Anita Squeeze band for this show included Robbie Crane (Ratt) on bass and Jason Charles Miller’s Drummer, Nick Mason.
After Anita Squeeze, Ahmet Zappa returned to introduce the Founder of the Dio Cancer Fund and Ronnie’s Wife, Wendy Dio. Wendy thanked everybody for showing up and supporting the cause.
Jason Charles Miller
Southern Rocker, Jason Charles Miller, is no stranger to Rockin’ for Ronnie. Jason also appeared at the 2023 Rock for Ronnie. Another great show from Jason and his band.
Count’s 77
From Las Vegas, NV, Danny “The Count” Koker, brought his band Count’s 77 to the Autry Park to Rock for Ronnie. “The Count”, originally known for his reality show “Counting Cars”, is also the owner of the rock club Count’s Vamp’d, which is sadly closing down at the end of the month.
Count’s 77 are: Danny “The Count” Koker (vocals), Stoney Curtis (Lead guitar), John Zito (guitar), Barry Barnes (bass), and Jeff Tortora (drums).
Before Kill Devil Hill took the stage, Ahmet took some time to talk to his longtime friend (and the wife of lead singer, Dewey Bragg), who also happens to be the daughter of Steven Tyler, Mia. Mia declared Kill Devil Hill as the “best band in the world”. There may be some bias there, but they certainly upped the metal level for the day.
Kill Devil Hill
Kill Devil Hill are comprised of Dewey Bragg (vocals), Mark Zavon (Guitar), Matt Snell (bass) and Lonny Pasillas (drums).
Before the Disciples hit the stage, Ahmet returned to the stage to handle the Live Auction which had some pretty impressive donations including a guitar signed by Richie Sambora, a guitar painted by an elephant (yes, you read that right) and signed by Geezer Butler, and what most considered the “main” item, 2 tickets to the sold out Farewell Black Sabbath show in Birmingham, England.
Wendy Presenting an award to Sharon Weisz who works tirelessly at the SUAS Cancer Foundation.
Dio Disciples
Of course what would any Rock for Ronnie event be without an appearance by the Dio Disciples.
Some of the members of the Disciples have played alongside Ronnie at some point on his journey. They mix up who performs and this year the band consisted of Scott Warren (keyboards) with Dio from ’94-’10, Simon Wright (drums) with Dio between ’89-’10, Ira Black (guitar), Bjorn Englen (bass) with the vocal duties being masterfully shared by Budderside’s Patrick Stone and most recent Lynch Mob vocalist, Gabriel Colon.
Special shout out to Gabriel who definitely had Ronnie’s stage moves and gestures down perfectly.
We finally got a chance to hear a swath of the Dio catalog which touched on his solo work as well as his time with Sabbath and Rainbow.
Sebastian Bach
The quintessential rocker, Sebastian Bach, took to the stage to deliver a blistering set of songs that spanned through his years with Skid Row as well as a healthy chunk of his latest (and amazing) solo album, “Child Within The Man“.
Sebastian’s band are Brody “Bruiser” De Rozie (guitar), Fede Delfino (bass) and his son, Paris Bach (drums).
Sebastian sounded great hitting some notes you’d think he left behind years ago. He joked about how much energy it takes a “57 year old rocker” to do what he’s still doing on stage. He even grabbed one of the audience members crutches to make his point.
Sebastian of course Paid tribute to Ronnie as well as a bunch of other rockers that we’ve lost including Vinnie Paul and Dimebag (Pantera), Jack Russell (Great White), John Sykes (Whitesnake), CJ Snare (Firehouse), Gordon Lightfoot, and Frank Zappa.
Former Bach drummer, Jeremy Colson surprised Sebastian by swapping out the stool from Paris during the start of “Future Of Youth” which brought a huge grin to the big blonde rocker’s face.
He made his final song of the day a full family affair when he brought out his youngest son, Trace, to play guitar alongside him and his oldest son Paris on “Youth Gone Wild“.
Right before the All-Star Jam, Wendy returned to the stage for a presentation of a check for $25,000 to Dr. David Wong and the UCLA Cancer Research Center.
Dr. Wong is continuing his research into a spit test that is not only able to detect the presence of cancer in a person, but also it’s potential stage. This would be a major breakthrough and would be something that people would be able to purchase to keep at home when necessary to test.\
All-Star Jam
The All-Star Jam capped off the day’s entertainment with a bunch of big names from the world of Rock & Metal including, John Bush (Armored Saint, Ex-Anthrax), Chris Kael (Five Finger Death Punch), Dug Pinnick (Kings X), Rudy Sarzo (Quiet Riot, Dio), Ricky Warwick (Thin Lizzy), Robbie Crane (Warrant), Ira Black (Dio Disciples, Vio-Lence), Phil Demmel (Kerry King, Category 7), Tommy London (Sirius XM), Brit Lightning (Vixen), Julia Lage (Vixen), Jeremy Colson (Steve Vai, Billy Idol), Doug Aldrich (Dead Daisies, Dio), Keith Nelson (BuckCherry), Mike Mangin (The Cult), Matt Starr (Ace Frehley, Mr. Big) and Neil Turbin (Deathriders, Ex-Anthrax).
The Ronnie James Dio Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund has to date raised over $2 million to support cancer prevention, research, and education.
Although Ronnie is no longer with us, his memory and legacy are strong and this annual event is a testament to the enduring love that we all have for the iconic frontman.
………..
I also would be remiss if I didn’t mention Chris Hagar. Chris was the guitarist in Rough Cutt and started Mickey Ratt with Stephen Pearcy. Chris succumbed to stomach cancer just this week. He participated with Rough Cutt at the 2017 Ride for Ronnie.
R.I.P. Chris.
For more information, please visit:
https://www.facebook.com/RJDSUASCF/
https://twitter.com/DioCancerFund
https://www.instagram.com/diocancerfund/
Related
3rd Annual Ride for Ronnie (2017)
