For Pete’s Sake!

Hi, my name is Danny Kiely.

On January 31 of 2024 our longtime friend and great pianist/keyboardist Pete Petersen suffered a stroke.

I am putting together, along with Chad Sheffield a fundraiser to rally our community for Pete as he struggles to recover from the stroke.

***Your entire donation will go to Pete Petersen.

And no raffles, sweepstakes, giveaways, or promotions are offered in exchange for any donations made to GoFundMe.

About Pete

Pete Petersen is a true pillar of the Louisville music scene and has been active here for over fifty years as both a performer and a teacher .

Playing all of the venues that have come and gone over the years. Such as the legendary, Joe’s Palm Room; and playing all the styles with the likes of Eddie Harris, Bo Diddley, Percy Sledge, Johnny Lytel, Pure Prairie League, America and many more.

The Buzzard. Our jazz quartet which features Pete, Tim Whalen on tenor sax, Mike Hyman on drums and me on bass has held a regularly weekly gig for over a decade at a downtown cellar venue. We opened for Steely Dan a few years ago which was, of course a thrill.

And for about a decade Pete and I have put together and performed a popular annual Vince Guaraldi/Charlie Brown Christmas show that usually runs four or five nights every December in local venues and features many of the areas best vocalist, instrumentalists, and even tap dancer.

Pete also has a fantastic and very popular Doors tribute band called Doorways.

In addition to those and the countless other, various gigs we play with Pete, for over a decade Pete has played solo piano six nights a week at Jeff Rubys in downtown Louisville.

And for those who might remember …. The Fat Cats Four.

On January 31, 2024, Pete sustained a Cerebral Vascular Accident, CVA-Stroke, affecting his left side. Post hospitalization, he is currently undergoing acute stroke therapy at Frazier Rehabilitation Hospital to restore his ability to walk, range of motion and articulation of arm, hand and fingers. He has made great progress, but will need immediate, continued rehabilitation at Norton Neuroscience Institute, out-patient music therapy and in-home therapy, and possibly out-of-state consultations. We are hopeful for a miraculous, full recovery which will likely take a year. Pete is a fighter, and his determination to succeed, is unbelievable and unwavering!

With this fundraiser we hope to create some financial assistance for Pete and his amazing wife, Laura to cover the mounting cost of medical expenses, and loss of income, so that Pete can focus solely on recovery and get back to work making the beautiful, healing music from which we have all benefited.

Thank you for donating For Pete’s Sake!