Illinois people help Illinois people, said Champaign native, Kevin Cronin to an arena filled with applause. The lead singer of REO Speedwagon, Cronin and his band took the stage with several other classic rock acts to raise money for the victims of the recent tornado outbreak in Illinois.

Rock to the Rescue raised “at least $300,000,” according to the show’s emcee, Larry the Cable Guy with a sold out show on Dec. 4, 2013 in Bloomington, Ill. Every cent from ticket sales, concert apparel sales, raffle tickets and an online auction was donated to local charities helping get Illinois tornado victims back on their feet.

The show began with a video showing scenes of the devastation in Washington, Ill. Unfortunately, there was still a long line of people waiting to get in to the building. In fact, people were still waiting to enter when the first band, Rushville, took the stage.

Rushville, a young country band, seemed out of place among the older generation of musicians. Luckily for everyone they only played a few songs before Headeast took the stage.

That’s when the show really started to rock! Headeast was great and really got the crowd going. They, also, only played a couple of songs but seamlessly transitioned to Survivor before many even noticed.

In fact, if it hadn’t been for Larry the Cable Guy running his mouth for a few minutes, nobody would have noticed there had been a change until Survivor played “Eye of the Tiger.” Despite the lack of acknowledgement at their entrance, they did a good job keeping the show moving and grooving.

Once Survivor left the stage, Larry the Cable Guy returned to fill time while the crew set the stage for Styx. His humor was a little lacking and it was totally believable when he said he had only been funny for seven of his 25 years as a comedian.

Styx was a little over the top. Their stage set up took what seemed like forever to put together. When they finally took the stage, it was anticipated they would follow suit and only play a couple of their big hits. They played several songs and even took a five-minute break in the middle of their set.

The bonus to this long set was that Ted Nudget was brought out for the last three songs. Styx looked a little uneasy having Nudget on stage with them. He was all over the place and often in the way of microphones.

Always one to bring politics up, Nudget was in his usual spirits claiming that America sucks but not as much as everyone else. Normally one to rev a crowd up, he was a bit of a downer. Everyone was at the show to support a community in need, not talk about politics.

Larry once again took the stage but this time, making anyone laugh was a chore. It seemed as though he knew he was drowning. He was done for when the crowd turned against him after he claimed John Cougar Mellencamp was up next only to laugh in our faces.

By the time REO Speedwagon was ready to start their set, Larry was literally begging the crew to hurry up.

REO really brought the feeling of love and caring that the event had lost in laughs and politics. They reminded everyone of the victims present at the event and explained how they are from Illinois and will always be proud to help where they can. They also played an entire set of songs and brought out a special guest.

The lighters were out in full force as REO gave the stage to Richard Marx who sang his famous ballad, “Right Here Waiting,” with only a piano for accompaniment. REO rejoined him for one song before finishing their set alone.

It is understandable that due to time constraints that everyone couldn’t perform complete sets, but it would have been nice if REO and Styx had given up a little of the lime light. But overall, it was a great night of classic rock for a great cause.