On Friday night, Minneapolis The Cabooze will host “A Night for Dean Magraw.” This evening will service as a fundraiser for the area musician Dean McGraw who recently underwent a bone marrow transplant. The night will include music from Big Wu, God Johnson, Alpha Consumer, JT Jazz Trio & Jason Shannon Band and other additional players with a $20 suggested donation at the door. As Jason Fladager writes in his blog, “Dean is recovering from a bone marrow transplant and has had to cancel all of his performances for the foreseeable future. A number of benefits have been organized to help raise money for Dean’s living expenses. Find out more at the Do the Dean website.”

Fladager also indicates that this show will mark his final performance with The Big Wu. Fladager initially stepped away from the band in 2002 and rejoined the group as of late for its infrequent performances. However, he writes, “Friday’s Big Wu Dean Magraw benefit show will be my last show with the band. It’s funny how much I loved that band but I fail in trying to navigate the various personalities. I think fondly back to 2000-2001 when we were firing on all cylinders and blowing people away at the first Bonnaroo. Yesterday there was an email from a guy in Florida named Octavia who just heard Break of Day for the first time (13 years after it first came out). He was blown away by the sound and the vibe. Man, I loved that band and the people who supported us. Truly.”