Eastern students and their families can spend “An Evening With Chicago” Saturday and can even bid for a chance to sing on stage with the band during the concert.

As part of their work with the American Cancer Society, the classic rock band Chicago has an auction on their website for VIP packages for each of their concerts to help raise funds and awareness to fight breast cancer. The packages includes a meet and greet with the band, two premium tickets, backstage passes, and the chance to sing “If You Leave Me Now” with the band onstage.

The auctions start at $500 and the bidding is currently open for both of Chicago’s performances at Eastern.

The band will perform at 6 p.m. and again at 8 p.m. in Lantz Arena. Their performance is for the University Board’s Family Weekend concert. Tickets are $27 and all seats are reserved.

Ceci Brinker, director of student life, said the members of the UB were excited to have an artist of this caliber.

“If people miss this show they’ll have really missed out,” Brinker said. “You can’t get this type of entertainment for this price to be honest. They’re music has been quality throughout the years.”

Trumpet player for Chicago, Lee Loughnane, said the band has been touring throughout the world since 2010 and performed in more than 100 locations including Australia, Brazil, the United States, and much of Europe. Their performance at Eastern will be their second stop in October.

Loughnane said he and the other band members have enjoyed traveling and performing for people.

“I love what I do,” Loughnane said. “It’s a great living and a great life. I would trade it for nothing else.”

He said touring can be difficult because he is away from his family.

“The toughest part is the traveling itself,” Loughnane said. “We’d have to have the transporter machine from “Star Trek”. That’d be great. We’d be able to go home after the show. See our kids at home and go off to work.”

Loughnane said his family has also given him new musical influences.

“My eight-year-old son is really diggin (Bruno Mars) so I’ve been listening to a lot of him,” Loughnane said. “He’s got a good energy and he sings really good. It’s cool to see.”

He said the band’s older influences include big band music, blues, Elvis and other music found throughout the city of Chicago. However, he said things eventually changed for the band.

“We started writing our own music and learned to play on stage,” Loughnane said. “You try to pretty much stop using other influences and try to come up with your own style of performing.”

Loughnane said the band’s work with the American Cancer Society was successful last year as well as this year.

“It’s great to be able to give something back,” Loughnane said.

He said the band also released their third Christmas album titled “O Christmas Three” on Oct. 4.

Loughnane said Phil Ramone, who has also produced Billy Joel, Elton John, Frank Sinatra and many other artists, produced the album.

“We have worked with Phil a number of times,” Loughnane said. “He wanted to work with the band again so we put together 14 songs, one of which is an original. The rest of which are arrangements of classic Christmas songs. I think young and old will like it once they put it in and start listening.”

Loughnane also said, in the future, the band plans to release a documentary in theaters in December as well as record new music and post new things to their website. He said they will be touring again in February 2012.

“We will be taking a short break this December for the holidays, but then start working again,” Loughnane said. “We’ll go back out on the road and do what we do.”

Seth Schroeder can be reached at scschroeder2@eiu.edu or 581-2812.