Heavy Blues tunes resonated from the Downing University Center Theater Wednesday for the Bifida Blues Jam concert to benefit the Spina Bifida Association of Kentucky.

The event was one that Western’s student disability coordinator, Matt Davis, had been planning for more than a year.

Davis was born with spina bifida, a birth defect that prevents complete development of the spinal cord and its coverings.

“I’ve always wanted to do some sort of fundraiser that incorporates the cause and music,” Davis said.

Performers included local band and friends of Davis, Rufus Ruff, as well as national touring bands JJ Grey and Mofro and Backyard Tire Fire.

“We drove about 40 minutes to see Rufus Ruff,” Woodburn resident, Johnny House said. “It was a bonus that the money went towards a great cause.”

Davis sought the help of his friend Tony Lindsey, who founded Tony Lindsey & Co. and is president of the Son Rhea Foundation, to orchestrate the show.

Lindsey took on the tasks of production, booking, sound and lighting as a way to help promote local music and raise awareness for the Spina Bifida Foundation.

“Matt is an able person all the way,” Lindsey said. “I definitely wanted to take the opportunity to help people with the disability to become as self sufficient and successful as he is.”

As student disability coordinator, Davis organizes various wheelchair sporting events throughout the year including rugby and tennis.

An avid athlete himself, he has, from his wheelchair, participated in more than 20 marathons around the globe.

The Spina Bifida Foundation educates people on prevention and treatments, helps them afford resources and medical bills, helps disabled people start living independently and promotes adaptive sports, according to Davis.

By 8 p.m., about 300 tickets had been purchased, according to Lindsey Gilmore, a member of Western Housing and Residence Life staff volunteering for the evening.

People continued to pour into the theater and bob their heads to the blues late into the evening.

“Hopefully this will be the first of many benefit concerts to come,” Lindsey said. “This is a great venue, great music, and great cause.”