Music has helped one artist reconnect with his family and now he is using it to help him cope with losing his best friend – Wagga’s Lisa Whittaker – to cancer.
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Justin Standley, an Australian singer and songwriter, said losing Lisa left a huge hole in his life.
“She was the only one I ever told I was going on X Factor,” he said.
“She and I came up with the plan for me to go on and hopefully find a way to find the children I had lost.”
Their plan worked and Mr Standley said she was one of his biggest fans.
Lisa passed away in December 2017 after battling breast cancer that later spread to the rest of her body.
“She fought so hard,” Mr Standley said.
“Before she died, Lisa asked me to put on fundraising concerts and she wanted me to get a few messages across that would be helpful to people facing cancer.
“To keep my promises, this weekend will be the first one and there will be three in total based around her birthday – January 14.”
Without Lisa, Mr Standley said he would not have had the same career.
“She was an integral part of my success and she did a lot of the groundwork to get my music out there,” he said.
“I have released many songs to radio, all of which have charted in the Top 10 of the Australian Country Tracks Top 40 and I am the only artist to have ever had three original songs in the top five at one time.
“This is a way to start the healing process and it probably sounds selfish but I haven’t been able to get over her loss."
Mr Standley said he doesn’t want people to think that the show would have a sombre theme to it.
“It is a hope-filled show because hope is the main ingredient you need,” he said.
“Almost everybody has had cancer or know someone who has it. There are songs and stories in this show that will touch people.”
Justin Standley will perform at the Commercial Club this Sunday from 2pm to 5pm. All proceeds will be donated to cancer research and support. Tickets are $10 and will be available at the door.
He said the show will include X Factor footage, photo tributes to Lisa Whittaker, a Roy Orbison tribute, some of his most popular and successful songs to date, new songs from the new Country Gospel CD.
“Most importantly, I will perform some of Lisa's favourite songs, such as Bridge Over Troubled Water and Climb Every Mountain,” he said.
“She was passionate about music and dancing and she particularly loved the songs with the soaring vocals.
“I have never done a show like this with such great diversity in songs.”
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