Courageous. Compassionate. Committed.
These are some of the words used to describe cancer fighter Randi Hosking, who is the inspiration for — and beneficiary of — Sunday’s “Blues Fest for Randi” at Humphreys Concerts by the Bay.
The lineup for the all-ages show includes The Blasters, Kid Ramos, Willie J. Campbell, The 44’s, The Casey Hensley Band and Hot Buttered Biscuit.There will also be a silent auction, basket raffles, wine pulls, finger food and a cash bar.
All proceeds will benefit Hosking and her family. A pillar of the San Diego community, she has inspired many here over the past decade.
After being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2006, Hosking underwent a double mastectomy and nearly two years of chemotherapy. In 2013, she was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer. More recently, the cancer has spread to her brain and she has developed diabetes as a result of the steroid treatment she has been receiving.
Undaunted, Hosking continues to co-own and operate Indigo Salon and Spa in Hillcrest, where she oversees a staff of 40. She has held numerous benefits at Indigo for an array of area nonprofits, including the Keep Abreast Foundation, Making Strides Against Breast Cancer, the San Diego Center for the Blind, Mama’s Kitchen and the San Diego LGBT Community Center’s Youth Housing Project.
Hosking has regularly helped other cancer patients and survivors. She is currently mentoring four women through Susan G. Komen San Diego, and regularly speaks on behalf of various cancer-related organizations. She and her husband, Kelvin,are devoted parents to their two teen-aged children, Jade and Gavin, whose bat mitzvah and bar mitzvah last year raised money for the Jewish Community Center’s Hand Up Youth Food Pantry and the San Diego Humane Society.
“What Randi has been through is an unbelievable battle,” said fellow cancer survivor Ramos, best known for his tenure as the guitarist in the Fabulous Thunderbirds and Roomful of Blues. “She is a fighter and so courageous. I’ve known her for at least 30 years and she’s been going through her cancer with remarkable dignity.”
Blasters’ bassist John Bazz agreed, adding: “We don’t play benefits like this too often, although we did do one a few years ago for Kid Ramos. But Randi is eminently worthy of having us take the time to come down to San Diego and lend a helping hand. It’s the least we could do.
“The Blasters played a lot in San Diego when we were getting started, between 1979 and 1982, and Randi was at virtually every show. She’s part of the select group of people we know in San Diego who are our friends.”
Hosking’s first husband, Scott B. Campbell, was the drummer in San Diego roots-rock band The Paladins from 1983 to 1990. Her brother-in-law, Willie J. Campbell, has been instrumental in helping line up the performers for Sunday’s event. The show will feature the first-ever joint performance by Ramos and The Blasters.
“I am excited, ecstatic, very appreciative and overwhelmed,” Hosking, 52, said Monday. “I feel like I have the biggest village — the biggest support system — in the world. Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breaths away.”
A Blues Fest Benefit for Randi, with The Blasters, Kid Ramos, Willie J. Campbell, The Casey Hensley Band, The 44’s and Hot Buttered Biscuit
When: 1 p.m. Sunday
Where: Humphreys Concert by the Bay, 2241 Shelter Island Drive, Shelter Island
Tickets: $75 (adults), $25 (kids under 12)
Phone: (619) 878-3378
Online: bit.ly/bluesfestrandi
george.varga@sduniontribune.com
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