Ukraine benefit concert held in Green Bay as war enters its 3rd month

GREEN BAY, Wis. (WBAY) - The American flag spliced with the Ukrainian flag was on display behind the Tarlton Theater stage, as musician Anastasia Lee sang the Ukrainian national anthem.

She says it took her about a week to learn it for Friday night’s free benefit concert, which she organized to collect donations for Razom for Ukraine, a group providing humanitarian relief in the war-torn nation.

The event began at 6 p.m.

“Watching what Russia is doing right now in Ukraine is pretty painful to see, totally unacceptable,” Lee said.

Lee says her experience performing in Romania, a country heavily influenced by the former Soviet Union, inspired her to host this.

“I mean just a totally different idea of wealth there versus here. We have our struggles here, I get it. And you know, it’s totally fine. But at the same time, we should be thankful and grateful for what we have,” Lee said.

She reached out to other musicians from Northeast Wisconsin who lined up to help her and perform for the crowd. There were people of Ukrainian descent who attended.

“The scenes that we see on television are just heartbreaking, and so...we help in whatever little way we can help,” Dan Hanson of the band Acme Pickers said.

For the owner of the Tarlton Theater Tarl Knight hosting such an event for free was a no-brainer.

“There’s a lot of death and a lot of destruction,” Knight said. “We’re lucky to be here in a community where it’s safe and relatively clean, so it’s our I think responsibility to come together and try and give back.”

If you’re interested in donating for Lee’s effort, here’s a link to the GoFundMe page she set up: https://www.gofundme.com/f/green-bay-fundraising-for-ukraine?utm_campaign=p_lico+share-sheet&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=customer&fbclid=IwAR1Ad7RshKeuhnN1YL7PfnVbxq1j2xlfRr-rtpL4mVGNWdAxYPDBqDJwrxE

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