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Concert for late heavy metal frontman to benefit charities for animal rescue and LGBTQ youth

Riley Gale, the late lead singer of Power Trip, will be honored at a benefit concert this Saturday.
Peter Wixson
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Courtesy of The Riley Gale Foundation
Riley Gale, the late lead singer of Power Trip, will be honored at a benefit concert this Saturday.

The Riley Gale Foundation — named for the late frontman of the heavy metal band Power Trip — is holding its second benefit concert Saturday in Deep Ellum

Gale and Power Trip brought North Texas metal to the world's stage, touring with headlining artists Ozzy Osbourne, Anthrax, Danzig and Testament.

Gale passed away two years ago from a fentanyl overdose.

The benefit concert, "Riley Gale & Friends Day Volume 2", will be held at The Studio at the Factory in Deep Ellum on Saturday, August 27th. North Texas metal and hardcore bands Frozen Soul, Judiciary and Semantix are currently slated to perform. Tickets to the show are free, with the option to donate to the foundation.

Proceeds will go to the Riley Gale Foundation, which was established by Gale's family after the musician's death in 2020.

Riley's younger brother, Zachary Gale, is the foundation's spokesperson.

"Right after Riley's death, our parents came to me and my siblings and said, 'Hey, we want to give you Riley's royalties and future earnings,'" Gale said. "It was just one of those intuitive moments where we all decided we don't want it. That's his money. We want to do something better with it . . . something that we feel like he would appreciate. And Riley, being as vocal as he was on social justice issues - we already knew what he cared about and what charities he was already working with and supporting."

The foundation works closely with two Texas-based organizations: Dallas Hope Charities and Dog Ranch Rescue.

Dallas Hope Charities provides assistance to young LGBTQ people in Dallas, primarily those without a safe place to stay and those struggling with mental health crises. Their current shelter houses a library named after Riley, and the second shelter they plan to open will be named after the musician as well.

Dog Ranch Rescue is a rescue and adoption service that has helped rehabilitate thousands of dogs found in unsafe conditions. The organization focuses on dogs rescued from "puppy mills," businesses that breed and sell purebred dogs in large quantities with little regard for their wellbeing.

Outside of Riley's legacy as an ardent supporter of the marginalized in our society, he is also fondly remembered as a trailblazing artist who inspired many North Texas musicians throughout his decade-plus in the North Texas underground scene.

"He paved the way for a lot of really talented musicians in Texas that didn't necessarily believe they could do it themselves," said the artist's brother. "[Riley] came along and said, you know what? We have a voice, we have the artists. Let's make Texas a force to be reckoned with within the music industry because we have such great artists down here and they deserve to be recognized."

Tickets to the benefit concert can be found here. More information about the Riley Gale Foundation is here.

Max Chow-Gillette is the Fall 2022 Art&Seek intern.