AUBURN -- Adam Lepak loves music. So it was fitting that a benefit dinner for Lepak featured live performances by local musicians.

Terry Casbarro, Heather Lardeo, Jake Lauckern and Lou Nocilly and Jazzitude entertained hundreds of Lepak's friends and family Sunday afternoon at the Ukrainian National Club. It was tough to find a seat as people crowded the club's banquet room in support of the 18-year-old Weedsport resident, who was badly injured in an October 2007 motorcycle accident, and his family.

Dispersed throughout the crowd were dozens of volunteers wearing light blue shirts with "Adam's Angels" printed on the front. The shirts also sported a logo with a pair of drum sticks, which represented Lepak's love of music.

A recent graduate of Weedsport High School, Lepak had been the drummer for the rock band Sacred Pledge. He even toured the country with the band, playing as far west as California, according to his uncle, Jim Kott.

"There are a lot of faces here I don't recognize," said Kott, who organized the benefit and estimated that more than 400 people attended the dinner. "I think a lot of people can sympathize with the family. When they see a young man at that age who was going to school, people's hearts go out."

Lepak was attending Cayuga Community College before the accident, which caused a traumatic brain injury. He is currently recovering at Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation in West Orange, N.J. Proceeds from the benefit dinner will go toward medical, travel and living expenses during his rehabilitation.

Read the full report in Monday's edition of The Citizen.