Tonic Ball presented by Eskenazi Health, is a celebration of local music. It’s a night of fun and excitement. And it’s all for a good cause.
Each year we celebrate the music of iconic bands and/or musicians, ask some of our favorite local performers to cover a few of their songs, raise money through the show, and give all the proceeds to our favorite nonprofit: Second Helpings. That’s Tonic Ball in a nutshell.
In a normal year, Tonic takes place each year on the Friday before Thanksgiving at five Fountain Square venues: Radio Radio, Fountain Square Theatre, White Rabbit Cabaret, The Hi-Fi and Pioneer. It wasn’t always that way—for the first few years, we covered just one famous musician/band and used Radio Radio as our exclusive venue. But too many people started showing up for just one room. So we expanded — first to the Fountain Square Theatre in 2006, then White Rabbit Cabaret in 2011, and then to The Hi-Fi in 2015. In 2017, we added Pioneer.
But Tonic Ball 2021 presented by Eskenazi Health is going to look different. To ensure a safe experience that still gives our fans an amazing concert AND raises plenty of money for Second Helpings, we’re taking this year’s event virtual on the Mandolin platform. And, instead of picking just artists to cover, this year, we’re celebrating the music of American chart toppers, the songs that hit #1 with a bullet on the US charts. We’re going virtual to keep everyone safe and hosting a show to keep our neighbors fed, and you are an essential piece of that equation.
So what are we about? Great music. Entertaining the whole family. But most of all: feeding people in need. And your support of Tonic Ball helps us take another crucial step toward eliminating hunger.