Beloved Greater Victoria radio host, Dylan Willows, who signed off his last on-air broadcast on Feb. 15 due to advancing cancer, is being celebrated at the Royal Theatre on March 19.
Willows was a radio broadcaster for 22 years, spending two decades on The Zone 91.3. At 25, he was diagnosed with uveal melanoma, a rare form of ocular cancer that eventually took his eye. Despite beating the cancer, it re-emerged last year, coming back aggressively and reaching Stage 4.
鈥淚鈥檓 now facing very limited time and unfortunately that time can鈥檛 be spent at the radio station here anymore,鈥� Willows said on air on his last day on The Zone.
Willows, or 鈥淏ig D鈥� as many affectionately call him, was the director of The Zone鈥檚 Band of the Month program which promoted countless Victoria acts.
Many of those artists are uniting to make the fundraiser a heartfelt night to remember, with Jon and Roy, Miina, Astrocolor (duo set), The Bankes Brothers, Vince Vaccaro, Liinks, Acres of Lions, Tyler Harvey and Mike Hann, and Deep Sea Gypsies set to perform.
Proceeds will go to Willows and his family.
The fundraiser takes place at the Royal Theatre, with the venue donated by The Royal and McPherson Theatres Society.
鈥淚t鈥檚 our way of saying thank you to Big D, for two decades of service to the local music community via V.I.C. Fest (which he co-founded) and the Capital Ballroom (which he co-owned) to his tenure at The Zone,鈥� read the press release.
Tickets cost $34.75-$58 and go on sale Thursday (Feb. 29) at 11 a.m. through the Royal McPherson box office 250-386-6121 or . Doors are at 7 p.m., show at 8 p.m. for the all-ages fundraiser.
Celebrating Dylan Willows
Since his announcement on air, fans, friends, family and other community members have expressed their grief and gratitude for the radio host.
鈥淲e never met Dylan. We don鈥檛 have a friendship. Yet, my wife and I are in tears listening to his goodbye as if he was a friend. For the past 10+ years, we listened to him and Jason every morning. He brought so much laughter and joy to our mornings,鈥� said Reddit user hook_falls.
鈥淚 woke up and looked forward to listening to you. You are an amazing human. Loved by many and you certainly have left your mark on the world,鈥� said Rob McNutt on Facebook.
Willows has been an advocate for cancer, joining the Cops for Cancer Tour de Rock team in 2008 and speaking openly about his battles, something listeners have appreciated.
鈥淎s someone living with cancer, I鈥檓 so grateful that Dylan has chosen to be public with his diagnosis,鈥� said Reddit user emslo. 鈥淭oo many times people fear being open about having cancer, and we only find out after they鈥檝e passed away. This is how we fight stigma, build compassion, and grow as a society.鈥�
Jason Lamb, who Willows co-hosted with for 16 years, was by Willows鈥� side on-air when he made the difficult announcement as both fought through tears.
鈥淲e just had something right away you and me. We didn鈥檛 do radio the regular way and I鈥檓 never going to have that again,鈥� Lamb said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know what I鈥檓 going to do. I鈥檓 really going to miss you.鈥�
鈥淛ust know that the two of us have always held each other in the highest regard and loved each other so much off the air and on the air,鈥� Willows said to listeners.
鈥淚鈥檝e dedicated my entire life to being on the radio and don鈥檛 regret one millisecond of it,鈥� he said in his closing remarks. 鈥淚t鈥檚 all about love, it really is and that鈥檚 all we need to focus on.鈥�
