THUNDERGONG! 2023 raises nearly $900k for Steps of Faith foundation via beard trimming and Tom Petty covers

Billy Brimblecom and Jason Sudeikis' 7th staging of the annual fundraiser reaps big rewards for charity.

November 17, 2023

Brock Wilbur, Kyle Koch,

Jason Sudeikis at Thundergong. // photo by Kylee Gregg

Thundergong is the annual benefit to raise money for Steps of Faith, “a nonprofit public charity dedicated to providing prosthetic care, hope, and comfort to amputees needing financial support.” Thanks to CEO Billy Brimblecom, Jr.’s longtime friendship with now-Hollywood star Jason Sudeikis, every year, a cavalcade of stars take to the Uptown Theater stage to put on an amazing variety show.

This year’s event was no exception.

Kicking off with a set of covers from Sam Richardson, Brendan Hunt, and Will Forte, the folks from Summer Breeze accompanied an evening with rock’n’roll hits from famous folks interspersed with rallying events for wracking up fundraising bucks.

The bidders battled it out over a signature pair of Steps of Faith Nikes. // Photo by Brock Wilbur

Local music hero Kevin Morby was among the more straight-laced participants in the evening, bringing his own “Rock Bottom Bop” to the stage before dueting on a number with Forte, all while Sudeikis barbed the musicians and the crowd with jokes at the expense of Morby’s high school.

Kevin Morby and Will Forte. // Photo by Brock Wilbur

Sudeikis’ duet with Ted Lasso costar Hannah Waddingham on A Star Is Born‘s “Shallow” has already gone massively viral, but within the room one of the most ridiculous moments arose from watching Coach Beard from the show have his beard shaved by Waddingham, and then immediately auctioned off to raise $7000.

Richardson took a surprising number of tracks on the night, bringing high-kicks and pitch-perfect vocals to the fundraiser’s most challenging epics.

Sam Richardson doing Van Halen in KC. The delay between man and screen made for some hilarious snaps. Dude slayed. #Thundergong pic.twitter.com/x0JNYb1NRF

— Brock Wilbur (@brockwilbur) November 13, 2023

The night rounded out with the appearance of Missouri’s own Nathaniel Rateliff, who brought the house down with originals and a Bruce Springsteen cover.

At the end of the evening, donations had topped just over $804,000, and as auctions continue to wrap in the days to follow, it looks increasingly like that’ll reach $900k or more.

Our photographer Kylee Gregg was there to capture it all.