Tallahassee's Live Music Community Charity Group, Inc. has reached a growth point, and they're inviting you to celebrate with them before they make their next move.
The 12,000 square foot Warrior on the River venue has been home to group for the past 12 years. As Trustee Chris Godwin explains, by day, they offer free performing arts services, "Giving free music instruments to kids, hosting free music lessons, dance lessons." By night, it's a place for local artists like Mervin "St. Wallace" to perform in front of a live audience.
"I would say it's the biggest stage I've performed on to date," Wallace said. "It's kind of a confirmation every time you step on the stage and you can get them to sing back the lyrics you've written, but to look around and it's like that many people doing it, it's like 'oh this could be something I could do for the rest of my life.' That's really how it felt."
But now, the charitable organization is poised and ready for a new opportunity, "because the philanthropic side of it has grown so much that the need for a place for kids to have music lessons has outgrown the performing arts center," Godwin said. He adds that the group wants to focus on its model of "filling the idle hands of our youth with instruments, you know basically before they're doing anything else ... especially with the violence in town, it's something that really needs to be addressed."
Assistant Executive Director Abigail Carlisle explains a few of they ways they live up to that.
"We're really excited about implementing some initiatives offsite," she said. "So one that we're doing currently, that we just started as of this past Monday, is working with the Leon Regional Juvenile Detention Center. There we'll be implementing classes in audio engineering and guitar. And we are also in the process of building relationships with local Title I schools such as Godby and a few other ones, and we're going to be looking into starting after school programs at those locations."
For atists like St. Wallace, there's no need to fear. Godwin says "The next people taking this over are going to carry on the live music side of it, so we're not like abandoning that at all, we're just now focusing on the creative and beginning spark in our youth of music."
The Tallahassee's Live Music Community Charity Group, Inc. is working with the Community Redevelopment Agency to find a suitable space for their mission. They're hosting their final show Saturday from 2pm to 11:30pm at 9330 West Tennessee Street.
Admission is $10, and it helps support free music classes for local school children.
