Instrumental Relief : A benefit show will help Big Sandy and His Fly-Rite Boys cover the cost of replacing stolen equipment.

Musical history remains an important presence for Big Sandy and his Fly-Rite Boys. That’s the history of American roots music, of rockabilly and Western swing, the genre this band from Anaheim has spent the last five years playing.

The quintet’s own musical history was dealt a powerful blow last month when its collection of vintage instruments was stolen from the band’s van as members attended a convention in Sacramento celebrating country and Western music from the 1940s and ‘50s. Gone was the band’s rare and virtually irreplaceable 1951 Bigsby triple-neck steel guitar, along with a ‘60s Gretsch guitar and vintage drums.

With their equipment lost and a show scheduled for the next night, Big Sandy and his Fly-Rite Boys quickly bought new instruments on credit, leaving them broke and in debt. But their fortunes should change Sunday when about a dozen roots-rock and Western swing acts perform at the Palomino in North Hollywood to raise money for the band.

Led by the Blasters and the Paladins, the show is billed as “Sand-Aid: Musicians Relief Fund Benefit,” which Big Sandy said he hopes will become a regular event to help other working bands survive catastrophic equipment losses.

“Sadly, this happens to just about everybody,” said Big Sandy, whose band will likely also perform Sunday. “So, hopefully, we can set up a fund that people can draw from.”

Other acts performing at the benefit include the Blazers, the Lonesome Strangers, the Dave and Deke Combo, Russell Scott and Ronnie Mack, who also is the host of the free weekly “Barndance” show at the Palomino. The Paladins will drive up from San Diego to perform at the show.

“It really makes me feel flattered that they would do this,” said Big Sandy, the band’s singer and rhythm guitarist, whose real name is Robert Williams Jr. The other band members are Lee Jeffriess on steel guitar, Ashley Kingman on guitar, Wally Hersom on stand-up bass, and Bobby Trimble on drums.

“Sometimes playing this kind of music is not the easiest thing,” Big Sandy said. “You’re up against a lot of people who think this is old hat or whatever. But we think it’s just as vital as what’s being done now.”

For Mack, the benefit underlines a common mission shared by these roots-music acts, playing music that is little acknowledged by the mainstream music industry. “When you’re involved in a style of music that the big industry tends to ignore, I think the people who play that kind of music feel they are part of a community,” Mack said. “So they will go out and play for free and show support for that community.”

Fly-Rite Boys manager Alan Larman, who launched the benefit, wasn’t sure how successful the show would be until he made his first few telephone calls to other bands. He found many eager to take part. They undoubtedly understood the Fly-Rite Boys’ trauma in losing their vintage instruments, which help contemporary roots-music acts re-create the old sound. Mack suggested that having the right sound “is as important as having the right licks.”

“There’s a certain sense of camaraderie” among these bands, added Larman. “We’re all involved in the scene together. Bands like the Blasters have always given us breaks and let us open up for them. Everybody tries to help each other and nurture the scene to help it grow.”

That’s certainly what brought Big Sandy and his Fly-Rite Boys to that Western swing convention in Sacramento as fans last month.

“It’s really honest music,” said Big Sandy, who will bring his band back to the Palomino on Nov. 20 for a regular show.

Where and When What: “Sand-Aid: Musicians Relief Fund Benefit,” with the Blasters, the Paladins, the Blazers, Dave and Deke Combo, the Lonesome Strangers, Russell Scott, Ronnie Mack, Johnny Legend, the Barnstompers, Tom Kenny, the Hyperions and J.D.’s Last Ride. Location: The Palomino, 6907 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood. Hours: 4 p.m. Sunday. Price: $12.50. Call: (818) 764-4018.