Paul Metsa rocked the Iron Range.

And the Iron Range rocked him back.

"We are the Range," a food shelf benefit concert organized by Metsa, a well-known singer, songwriter, and musician who grew up in Virginia, raised $2,000 and 975 pounds of food Saturday at Olcott Park in Virginia.

For Metsa, musicians who participated in the benefit, and attendees, it was about giving back to communities and Iron Range people.

"The best part of Virginia hasn't changed," said Metsa. "It's a true community where one person helps another, and we all help each other."

The eight-hour benefit brought together a variety of talented musicians, some who decades ago performed on the Iron Range with Metsa, and others who had never met.

People who attended the benefit donated non-perishable food items and cash to help stock area food shelves. Musicians donated their time and talent.

"I was really surprised by the incredible music still being played on the Range," said Metsa, who lives in Minneapolis and has won seven Minnesota Music Awards. "We reached out to the best musicians on the Range, and they were all immediately aboard."

Food shelves in the Quad Cities, Aurora and Chisholm, will benefit from the concert along with the Virginia Salvation Army, said Marilyn Ocepek, Arrowhead Economic Opportunity Agency director of Arrowhead Senior Nutrition Services.

"It's summertime right now and not yet the holidays when needs go up," said Ocepek. "But for some of the food shelves which struggle, this is really good for them."

Metsa, who each year participates in a food shelf benefit in Minneapolis, says he would like the Iron Range benefit to become an annual event.

"My mother (Bess) and father (Elder) loved this city," said Metsa. "Being back here reminded me why Virginia is one of the greatest towns in America."

Pictured above: Paul Metsa (right), producer of We are the Range, an Arrowhead Food Shelf fundraiser, presents a $2,000 check along with performer Wee Willie Walker (left) to Marilyn Ocepek of the Arrowhead Economic Opportunity Agency.