What to Know
- Proceeds will go to first responders and to the families of Parkland victims.
- Some 20 artists were scheduled to perform at the concert.
Fort Lauderdale's Revolution Live venue on Friday hosted a benefit concert following the Parkland school shooting tragedy.
"We are heartbroken by the news of the tragedy in Parkland, at a school that is part of our local community," the venue announced, adding that "100 percent of ticket proceeds will be donated to provide financial support to families of the victims and first responders."
Concert organizers said American singer and songwriter Austin Mahone and some 20 other artists performed.
Seventeen people were killed on Feb. 14 when a gunman armed with an AR-15 entered the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School campus and began indiscriminately shooting at victims.
"We are all still in shock. It doesn’t feel real. So for this to try and get back to normality and back to being happy, I think that’s really great," Stoneman Douglas freshman Gabrielle Benzeken.
Coral Springs Middle School teacher Nicole Marsala said she thinks the concert is "wonderful."
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"I think it's giving everybody a little bit of a break. It's been very intense the last week and a half. I think this is giving everybody a little bit of lightheartedness to the situation," she said.
Ben Sparaco is a 2015 Stoneman Douglas graduate who flew back to South Florida from Nashville to perform with his band Ben Sparaco and the New Effect.
"I would say its one of the more meaningful gigs I've played in my life," Sparaco said. "It's the most, by far. It really means a lot to do it for the people I know. I know people affected by the shooting and some people that did pass away. It really means a lot to do what I do best to help them."
