Billy Elton will be making their 9th appearance in the Neuqua Valley High School Auditorium on Friday, March 13, 2026, at 7:30PM to perform a benefit concert. Billy Elton is a band that celebrates the music of Billy Joel and Elton John, and features Reid Spears on piano and lead vocals.
“We are so thrilled to be returning to Neuqua Valley for another concert,” said Spears. “This is where it all started for us, and it means so much to us to come back and to continue to support these meaningful causes.”
As with their previous eight appearances at Neuqua Valley, the purpose of the event is to benefit funds created in memory of some fondly remembered Neuqua Valley teachers. The concert started as a means to benefit the memorial funds of Tom Schlegel and Dave Scheidecker. In 2016, one more teacher’s memorial fund was added – Leslie Baumann, an English teacher and dance instructor who passed away in 2014 after a battle with cancer. The previous concerts have raised over $26,000.
“It was very special to me that we added Leslie’s fund to our benefit concerts,” said Spears. “Leslie was a friend, and she was a big supporter of Billy Elton and of me personally. It is a little bittersweet that she attended our earlier performances during the first few years when we were starting out, and now we honor her memory and legacy at these shows.”
Tom Schlegel was a physical education teacher and assistant football coach at Neuqua Valley who passed away in 2006 after a year-long battle with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Dave Scheidecker (“Shy”) was an English teacher, theatre director, and speech coach who also passed away in 2006. Funds from the previous Billy Elton benefits have gone partially to assist the families as well as supporting scholarship funds that bear their names.
Spears remembers, “Julie Schlegel (Tom’s wife) conveyed a story to me several years back that they were trying to decide between two extremely worthy candidates to receive that year’s scholarship, and after the funds came in from our benefit concert, they were able to award it to both students. It was so exciting to hear how we were really making a difference.”
Laura Dabezic, who was a friend and colleague of Leslie Baumann and now oversees her memorial scholarship fund, shared how the concert has helped support that fund.
“With the help of Reid Spears and the Billy Elton concert, the Interact Club has awarded $15,000 in scholarships—ranging from $500 – $1,000—over the last six years to deserving seniors who share the same passion for helping others as Leslie,” noted Dabezic. “Through the generous donations from the Billy Elton concert, twenty-three different students were given financial assistance for their journeys to follow in Leslie’s inspirational footsteps.”
Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the door, with general admission seating. Tickets may be purchased in advance on the Neuqua Valley music website at www.neuquamusic.org. To see more about Billy Elton, visit www.Billy-Elton.com.
