Local Artists Team Up to Benefit the Radio Room - iOnGreenville: Your Guide to Greenville South Carolina

Brett Barest

Last week I used this space to talk about the RESTART Act and how it could potentially benefit independent music venues across the country. Just a few hours after that article was published, Darby Wilcox reached out to me to discuss a fundraiser for one very specific local venue – The Radio Room. The event spans two weekends and, even though the first one has already passed, there is still a great weekend of streaming music to enjoy and inspire you to help out where you can.

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Brett Barest

Since the start of this pandemic, local artists streaming live online with the option sending a little scratch their way has become fairly commonplace. This is the first time, however, that I have seen artists coming together for an actual venue. This is a great way for them to show support for the venues that support their art and, hopefully, help ensure they still have places to play when this whole mess is said and done.

Basically, it works like this… seven Upstate acts each take a time slot over the course of two consecutive weekends and go live from wherever they sit via Facebook or Instagram Live. Instead of asking for contributions for themselves, they ask that your generosity be directed toward The Radio Room’s GoFundMe page. Last weekend saw Mac Leaphart and Susto take over Friday evening while Darby Wilcox and Kenny George held down the Saturday shift. This week we have Salti Ray’s Mary Norris and Mark Webb going live Friday evening while Mourning Dove closes out the drive on Saturday.

I have to be honest, this is the kind of event that gives me hope that things are going to be alright in the world whenever the dust should finally settle on all of this. When you turn on the news in 2020, all you see is disagreement, anger, and outright violence with commentators doubling down on how terrible things are. The vitriol flows over to social media and it makes one wonder if we will ever agree on anything ever again.

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And then something like this happens.

Seven artists, all struggling with their own inability to perform their craft, do not even mention their personal losses and challenges, instead choosing to perform free of charge in support of a beloved local venue. It displays such a sense of community that we all need in our lives right now and gives hope that when push comes to shove, we are all actually on the same team. Kudos to everybody that came together to organize and perform for this and, even more than that, many thanks to those that contributed to the cause.

Basically everyone involved loves Radio Room. It’s time for us to give back to a venue who has been a staple in our music family for years. They’ve really stepped it up professionally and made a name for themselves as the true legit venue to play in Greenville. We have to come through for the things that bring value and pride to our community. Radio is it.
Darby Wilcox

These are strange times indeed, friends, but events like this display the love the world so desperately needs right now. Keep fighting the good fight and we will all be better for it in the end.