Lehigh Valley residents gathered recently to raise awareness for heroin addiction at ArtsQuest Center in Bethlehem April 23.

Lehigh Valley Music Award-winning band Scott Marshall and Marshall’s Highway performed for the Sounding Out Against Heroin event.

Scott Marshall, a Salisbury Township School District employee and Salisbury High School alumni, partnered with StepByStep Inc., a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to providing support to children and adults with mental illness, intellectual disabilities and autism.

Center for Humanistic Change, the Discovery Institute, the parent group, RAFT (Recovering Adolescents and Families Together) Treatment Center LLC and The Greater Lehigh Valley Music Association also were organizations in attendance in addition to StepbyStep Inc.

“I suggested calling the event Sounding Out Against Heroin because it was going to focus on music and letting our voices be heard,” Marshall said. The goal was to “be a voice for everyone who understands this fight and be loud enough to let our community know we care.”

Heroin, a drug derived from morphine and highly addictive, accounts for nearly half of all opioid abuse-related deaths each year.

“Throughout the years, my life as a singer/songwriter has, at times, exposed me to folks who struggled with drug abuse and addiction,” Marshall said.

“Last year, it became very personal when my lifelong friend and guitar player, David James Arey, lost his 18-year-old son Shane to addiction.”

With Arey in mind, Marshall set out to raise awareness through music and song.

“In this particular fight at this particular time, awareness is more valuable than anything, so that’s what we are all trying desperately to raise. Along with some funds for all that additional help.”

With nearly 500 seats filled, the message to sing out and sound out against heroin rang throughout the Musikfest Café stage. The three-hour event featured Scott Marshall and Marshall’s Highway, along with guest performances by singer/songwriter David Perkin, guitarist John Cannavo, Tony Dileo and Joel Berardi from the local band The Cherry Bombs, blues musician Don Hoffman and Salisbury’s Key Club and chorus members.

Throughout the night, the band members kept switching around, playing old and new songs, featuring different artists on instruments, including percussion, guitar, saxophone and more. An array of songs were performed from Bette Midler’s “The Rose” to Prince’s “Purple Rain.”

Marshall also sang a handful of original songs, including a gospel piece titled “Hope on the Cross,” which is currently his favorite song to perform.

“It’s no secret my faith plays an important part in my life,” he said. “With all these tragedies and all the sickness and death we’ve been seeing and the world seemingly growing darker and crazier these days, everyone needs and is longing for hope. It’s a song that comes from the heart.”

Marshall co-wrote “Hope on the Cross” with Salisbury Township School District employee Doug Lapp.

“It’s very special to both of us, and the response I’ve been getting every time we play it is overwhelming.”

Scott Marshall and Marshall’s Highway often play benefit shows.

Mayfair, Musikfest and J. Birney Crum Stadium on the Fourth of July are just a few of their upcoming venues this summer. For a full list of dates, check the band website, MarshallsHighway.com.

For those interested in donating and getting involved with the cause, visit stepbystepusa.com for more information.