After tornado, ‘Rally’ brings music, comedy, generosity to Menasha

Matthew Day

Staff

October 2, 2026

MENASHA – The Aug. 24, 2026 issue of The Business News featured a roundtable discussion featuring a wide range of professional, practical and emotional support and suggestions for business leaders affected by the destruction of the July 27 tornado in the Fox Valley. 

This weekend, an event spearheaded by local organizers – with the help of musicians, comedians and writers from across the country and beyond – looks to offer yet another way for businesses and individuals to lend a hand to those who’ve lost so much. 

Rally for the Valley takes place this Saturday, Oct. 3, in downtown Menasha, featuring the following entertainment: 

• Comedians/writers Charlie Berens and Phil Johnston 
• Musicians/bands Butch Vig (of Garbage), Soul Asylum, Fountains of Wayne, Max Collins (of Eve 6), Cory Chisel, Freedy Johnston, Hang Ten, LOLO, Kami and Rucksack Revolution 
• Other Wisconsin personalities, musicians, artists and special guests 

The Rally will also feature community vendors, including businesses directly impacted by the tornado. 

The event is free to attend, and Co-Organizers Phil Johnston, Alex Drossart and Adrienne Palm said all proceeds will support three local nonprofits: LEAVEN, Greater Fox Cities Area Habitat for Humanity and Pillars. 

Sponsorships are encouraged, the organizers said, with early sponsors/contributors including: 

• Hilton 
• Cellcom, which is funding the livestream of the event as well as enhancing Wi-Fi services at the event and facilitating over-the-phone donations 
• Event Production Systems 
• THZ, serving as insurance agent for the event 
• Cherry Optical Lab 
• Nicolet National Bank 
• LiveX, which is facilitating the livestream, viewable on Charlie Berens’ YouTube channel 
• Photo Opp and History Museum at the Castle, which are partnering to help those affected by the tornado to document their stories 
• Stone Arch Brewpub 
• Graphic Composition 
• GFL Environmental, which has donated a dumpster for the event 
• Top Cup 
• McCarty Law 
• Graham Images 
• Milwaukee Brewers 
• Hear in the Fox Cities, which is serving as the fiduciary agent and nonprofit event host, as well as offering earplugs at the event 
• Lamers, which is offering shuttle services from designated pickup locations for the event 
• Boelter 
• U.S. Venture 
• AZCO 

De Pere marketing agency Element, Palm said, has also aided with coordinating social media promotions for the event. 

“There have been innumerable businesses and individuals that have stepped up to make this thing happen,” she said. “And truly, it would not be happening without that generosity, because even with all of the performers donating their time entirely, the hard cost for something of this size and scale is still kind of wild. So, we’ve tried to really keep the costs down as much as humanly possible, so as much money as possible ends up with those nonprofits.”

Between organizational and individual donations, Drossart, Palm and Johnston said they hope Rally for the Valley will raise half a million dollars for the tornado victims. 

Rallying together 

Johnston – a Neenah High School graduate, whose writing credits include animated films “Wreck-It Ralph,” “Zootopia” and “The Twits” – said although he currently lives in Canada, his 91-year-old parents still live in the same Neenah household where he grew up. 

“On the day of the tornado, my mom – she’s 91 – she just sent a picture of a tree that had fallen on their house,” he said. “That was how I found out about it. No explanation.”

As the scope of the regional damage was revealed, Johnston said he felt compelled to get involved. 

“When I saw it, obviously as everyone else from afar did, I asked the same question everyone else who has a connection to that place did, which is, ‘Is there anything we can do? How could I help?’” he said. 

His first phone call, Johnston said, was to his “two closest friends who have influence in the state” – Butch Vig and Charlie Berens. 

Vig – perhaps best known for producing Nirvana’s breakthrough album “Nevermind” (30 million copies sold), and the Smashing Pumpkins’ platinum debut album “Gish” at Smart Studios in Madison – is no stranger to charity music events, as a primary participant in the annual Joey’s Song fundraiser in Madison, which also features Berens. 

Johnston said he approached Berens – who was a production assistant on Johnston’s first film, “Cedar Rapids” – and Vig – who was his neighbor in Los Angeles – about putting on “a little concert somewhere, not thinking it would be anything grandiose.”

“That’s literally where the ball got rolling, was this idea to do a show that would be free for people after a long, hard summer, to come together and celebrate the resilience of the place while also trying to raise some money,” he said. 

Appleton musician Drossart – who serves as musical director for Joey’s Song – said Vig contacted him to help with coordinating entertainment, as well as his girlfriend, Palm – who has an extensive background in large event planning – to pull together what they had named Rally for the Valley. 

Like Johnston, Palm said her parents also live in the Fox Valley, “half a mile from the worst of the destruction” in Menasha.

Despite “super short notice on everything,” the co-organizers said they were able to secure an impressive group of musicians willing to donate their time and talents. 

“People might be more likely to say, ‘Oh, yeah, Soul Asylum, Fountains of Wayne are playing – yeah, we’ll donate X, Y or Z,’” Johnston said. 

Drossart said the prominence of the entertainers was also beneficial in earning the cooperation of the City of Menasha for approving the event. 

In addition to preparing for a “really, really good crowd” in person, Palm and Drossart said the livestream will be broadcast to Berens’ 3 million-plus YouTube subscribers. 

Donations will be primarily collected through rallyforthevalleywi.com, where Palm said funds are distributed directly to the donor’s choice of nonprofit(s). 

“If somebody says, ‘I have $30, I want to give $10 to all three,’ they can go in and make those three separate donations, or they can just pick one that they like,” she said.   

The organizers said the website/event will also feature an auction, with items and packages donated by the Milwaukee Brewers and Green Bay Packers. 

A vacation package will also be available, Drossart said, as well as a “Butch Vig package,” featuring an autographed guitar, a 60-minute video call with Vig to discuss music production (or anything else) and four tickets to this January’s Joey’s Song event as Vig’s guest. 

With national coverage anticipated for the event, Drossart said the Rally website will continue to accept donations well after the event. 

This week, though, the organizers said the main focus is on Saturday’s free concert. 

“It’s not going to be solved in one day,” Johnston said, “but to be able to go and hang out with your friends and your family, meet some new people and see some incredible artists giving their time to you as a gift to your community – it’s a celebration of the resilience and fortitude of people coming together from a lot of different places to try and help out. And, good Lord willing, and the creeks don’t rise, it’ll be a nice day of weather, and it’ll be beautiful.”

Visit rallyforthevalleywi.com and follow Rally for the Valley on social media for more information. 

The Business News will follow up with the organizers in a future issue, recapping the event and how so many regional businesses collaborated in a time of need.