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By Laurie Heuston Revels August 20. 2015 12:01AM Jim Belushi concert benefits Holly Theatre restoration Jim Belushi stands inside the historic Holly Theatre. The actor, comedian and musician stepped into the role of honorary chair of the Holly Theatre Restoration Project earlier this year. Photo courtesy of Christopher Briscoe Stepping into his older brother's shoes as a Blues Brother back in '92 didn't appeal to Jim Belushi at first. "When Dan (Aykroyd) offered, I answered with an emphatic no," says the actor, comedian and musician during a telephone interview. "That's was my brother John's thing." When Belushi finally agreed, mildly contending that he didn't sing the blues, Aykroyd told him that he'd better learn. To bone up his talents as a bandleader, Aykroyd sent Belushi to sit in with House of Blues band The Sacred Hearts — Aykroyd is co-founder of the chain of blues clubs. Crashing the band's rehearsals, laughing, acting, singing, playing harmonica and dancing turned out to be so much fun that the band has come to be known as Jim Belushi and the Sacred Hearts. Belushi began to perform alongside Aykroyd as Brother Zee Blues, making appearances with The Blues Brothers' lineup of extraordinary musicians at corporate parties and fundraisers. Belushi and Aykroyd also have appeared on two albums together: "Blues Brothers & Friends: Live from House of Blues" in 1997 and "Have Love Will Travel" in 2003. Similar to The Blues Brothers, The Sacred Hearts are a blues, soul and R&B revival band made up of Grammy-nominated session and side musicians that deliver covers of classic songs by Wilson Pickett, Bobby "Blue" Bland and others with a whole lotta soul, energy and humor. Belushi and his Sacred Hearts will perform a benefit concert for the Holly Theatre Restoration Project at 8 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 29, in the amphitheater at Eden Valley Orchards, 2310 Voorhies Road, Medford. Gates open at 5:45, and a dinner for VIP ticket holders will be served at 6 p.m. Lawn seating is $33 at the show, $59 for reserved seating. A dinner and preferred seating package is available for $119, and a VIP Premium seating, dinner and after-party package is $169. A portion of every ticket is a tax-deductible donation to the Holly Theatre project. All tickets can be purchased online at hollytheatre.org or by calling 541-772-3797. Tickets also are available through the Holly's sister venue — the Cascade Theatre — in Redding. Lawn seating also is available at EdenVale's tasting rooms in Medford and Ashland and at Terra Firma stores in Medford and Jacksonville.  "There will be about 10 of us at the show," Belushi says. "It's a full show band with horns, singers, and me singing and playing harmonica. They're a choosy bunch when it comes to selecting songs. They won't let me do Pickett's 'Mustang Sally.' They say it sounds too much like a bar song." According to several websites, Belushi also shamelessly flirts, talks, dances on table tops and does at least one back flip at each of his shows. After touring with The Sacred Hearts and pounding out blues for several years, Belushi decided to record his own blues and soul record. “36 x 22 x 36″ was released 1998 on River North Records, a Chicago-based recording company and a subsidiary of Platinum Entertainment Inc. "36 x 22 x 36" follows the uptempo, electric Chicago-blues style similar to The Blues Brothers, offering 11 tracks of driving classics such as Big Joe Turner's "The Chicken and the Hawk" and Paul Butterfield Blues Band's "Born in Chicago," along with contemporary numbers such as Stevie Ray Vaughan's "If the House is Rockin.' " He also brought in musicians Huey Lewis, Charlie Musslewhite, Delbert McClinton and McCoy Tyner to record cameos, giving the album some musical weight. Belushi may be best known for his role as James Orenthal on the long-running ABC sitcom "According to Jim." He started his acting career in his hometown of Chicago studying at the Goodman, Apollo and The Second City theaters. After a two-year stint on NBC's "Saturday Night Live," he went on to appear in dozens of movies and television series. In 2011, he garnered rave reviews for his Broadway role as Harry Brock in "Born Yesterday." More recently, he's turned back to his improv roots and formed comedy troupe The Board of Comedy. He's also opened The Comedy Bar, a stand-up club in Chicago's suburb of River North. Belushi visited the Rogue Valley often, staying with friends, before building a summer home on the Rogue River. It was through a friend that he heard of the Holly Theatre Restoration Project and decided to help out. He and his band mighty be the first act to appear in the newly restored theater. Belushi stepped into the role of honorary chair of the Holly Theatre Restoration Project in April. http://www.dailytidings.com/article/20150820/NEWS/150829997 © 2015 Copyright © 1995-2011 Crain Communications Inc. All Rights Reserved. Terms of Use Privacy Statement -->