GALVESTON – Dean Solomon may not have power in his Jamaica Beach home yet, but he was not about to let that hold him back from having a little fun at the Moody Gardens Beach Boys concert this past Saturday.

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Mike Love from The Beach Boys played at Galveston's Moody Gardens.

“The place is livable, but there’s no power yet,” said Solomon.  “We finally got inspection this week, so maybe we’ll be up and running in a couple more days.”

Like many of the 7,000 attendees, Solomon’s home was hit hard during Hurricane Ike. In fact, most of the people we spoke to that night, had suffered some kind of damage during the storm.

“We had over six feet of water in our house,” said Larry Yarbrough from Bayou Vista. 

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Galveston's Mayor and Trading Spaces host Alex McLeod were among the 7,000 guests. McLeod is originally from Galveston.

“We 'used' to have a house in Crystal Beach,” said Mike Villareal, laughing.

Despite the hardships the attendees had gone through in the last month, everyone at The Beach Boys concert was in good spirits, which is exactly the reason why Moody Gardens decided to throw the benefit.

“We were very excited to bring The Beach Boys to Galveston, and to help our friends and neighbors in the on-going rebuilding effort. In the wake of Hurricane Ike, the music of the Beach Boys is just the tonic we all need,” said Gavin O'Neil, Moody Garden’s Hotel General Manager.

Opening for the Beach Boys were a couple of popular local bands: The Intercoastal Pirates and The Coastliners. A portion of ticket proceeds were donated to the United Way of Galveston to benefit the Galveston Chapter of the American Red Cross and Gleanings from the Harvest - Galveston Food Bank.

By the end of the night O’Neil said they had raised over $40,000. Galveston's Underground Surf Depot also donated a surf board that The Beach Boys autographed. It was auctioned off at the end of the night.

But the night wasn't all about fun in the sun. The City of Galveston’s Volunteer Reception Center was on-site to spread the word that help was in the area for those who still needed assistance.

“Our team is here to help residents get the help they need to clean up after the hurricane,” said Nathan Epp, VRC volunteer.  “All they need to do is register at www.cityofgalveston.org.”

The nearly sold-out concert was the first Galveston event since Hurricane Ike.  Organizers and businesses in the area hoped that it would create awareness that the city is ready for people to come back.

“We are thankful for the Moody Garden Foundation for putting on this event -- the first one since the Hurricane. And we are sincerely thankful for everyone one who came out to show their support,” said Galveston Mayor Lyda Ann Thomas.

Moody Gardens is planning to do a number of concerts in the New Year as part of their Concerts on the Gulf Series.