Kevin Bacon will rock on Pikes Peak

Kevin Bacon may face just six degrees himself when he and older brother Michael perform a free concert at the summit of Pikes Peak at the end of the month.

The Pike Peaks Rocks concert, sponsored by the Love Hope Strength Foundation, will raise money for bone marrow donors around the world, contributed by 100 registered hikers.

But to hear the Bacons, they face a 12.6-mile hike to the top.

"Hiking Pikes Peak is no easy feat," acknowledged Shannon Foley, director of the foundation, a group that raises money for cancer centers by organizing high-altitude benefit concerts. "We had a couple of people not register because they really weren't sure what they were getting themselves into."

The hike will begin at 6 a.m. on June 27; the Bacons perform at 1 p.m. Although the event includes acoustic sets by The White Buffalos and Cy Curnin of The Fixx, those who choose not to hike will miss the performances along the trail.

It's the challenge that counts for the die-hards who support the foundation.

They've hiked for cancer research across the globe. Past destinations have included the Empire State Building, Mt. Everest's overlook and the trails to Machu Picchu.

"It makes sense to do the concert on Pikes Peak," Foley said. "What is the most iconic mountain in the U.S.? It's Pikes Peak."

An organizer of the rock concert called the Bacon Brothers show "the first ever of its kind" atop the mountain.

To bring the event to 14,115 feet above sea level, the foundation began collaborating with the Pikes Peak Highway in January.

"There are concerns to look out for the weather, because they will be out in the open," said Jo Behrens, a senior analyst at the Pikes Peak Highway.

The elevation does make a difference. Breast cancer survivor and past trekker Christine Alan traveled with the foundation to Nepal in October 2007 to hike Mount Everest. Out of 38 hikers, two didn't make it to the overlook destination, she said.

"They call it the altitude challenge lottery," she said. "You don't know who it's going to affect, so we just don't think about that."

Alan will fly here from sea level in Dallas. Regardless of the altitude, she will hike Pikes Peak, she said.

The foundation chooses iconic locations of high elevation to reinforce its theme: "Bringing cancer awareness and cancer support to new heights."

"It symbolizes the climb back from cancer for millions of people around the world," Foley said.

Foley recently met with Kevin Bacon at the Hard Rock Cafe in Denver to talk about the concert. He had a scheduling conflict at the time, but Foley was delighted when she got word later that he could go ahead with the show.

The Bacons do not plan to hike up Pikes Peak.

The afterparty will take place at the Hard Rock Cafe Denver at 9 p.m. June 27.

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Contact the writer at 636-0372.

TO JOIN THE HIKE

It's free to catch The Bacon Brothers on the observation deck of the Pikes Peak summit, but if you'd like to join the hike and support Love Hope Strength, it'll cost $50 and a pledge to raise money for the group. To register, go to lovehopestrength.org.

For more details, click here. And check for updates in future issues of GO!