The Union Bar and Casa Nueva hosted the 14th annual Benefest on Friday and Saturday, gathering local musicians to support youth music education and community mental health.
Event proceeds were donated to Stuart’s Opera House after-school music program and The Gathering Place, a local mental health advocacy space.
Night one hosted bands including The Laughing Chimes, The Zeitgeist, Rylee Bapst Band, Feline Frenzy, SubZero and Pretty Incident. Night two’s lineup included Blush, Space Kid, Jone & the Hissyfits and Hourglass.
Stuart’s AMP “welcomes students ages 12 through 21 and provides them access to a recording studio, practice rooms, instruments and guidance from multiple instructors,” a previous article by The Post stated. Throughout the week, nearly 65 students gather at the opera house to practice.
The Gathering Place, supported by the Athens-Hocking-Vinton Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services Board, the Ohio Department of Behavioral Health and other grants, provides “peer support, linkage services, advocacy, mental health education, opportunities to affordable housing,” and more. The Gathering Place is registered under Athens Mental Health Inc. and had $1,204,984 in assets at the end of 2022. It made $433,880 in revenue that same year.
Benefest concerts not only raised money for local organizations, but also gave passionate musicians the platform to perform.
The Laughing Chimes band, which specializes in indie-pop, said they have a strong connection to Benefest. Evan Seurkamp, who plays guitar and does vocals, and his brother, who plays the drums, formed the band in 2020 and were inspired by Stuart’s Opera House.
Seurkamp, a junior studying music production at Ohio University, said his experience with the Opera House was nothing short of memorable.
“My brother and I did the after-school program at Stuart’s when we were in high school,” Seurkamp said. “That got us into playing music in a band. It’s a really great program and I teach there now.”
Seurkamp said this was the band’s fourth year performing at Benefest.
“Benefest is a good cause,” he said. “It’s an event that brings together a lot of bands from around Athens, and it is really nice to see everyone come together.”
Also performing on night one, Rylee Bapst, an OU alum, started his band as a solo singer and songwriter, but welcomed four additional members.
Bapst, who played Benefest solo and in collaboration with others in previous years, said the band specializes in “soul, country, and rock and roll” music.
“This is not my first Benefest, I have done it a lot,” he said. “I love it. I think it’s awesome because it’s for a good cause. I definitely would have loved to have a rock school deal going on.”
Both nights brought together an audience of high schoolers from Stuart’s AMP and locals to support the musicians and the fundraiser.
Despite the plethora of returning performers, some musicians celebrated a charitable cause and made their debut. For the band Space Kid, Benefest served as a fresh experience to make connections.
Patrick Gallaugher, a freshman studying outdoor recreation and education, is a vocalist/guitarist for Space Kid, playing alongside two additional members.
Gallaugher said he and the members played music together throughout high school. Benefest allowed them to connect with locals and other musicians in the area.
“We’ve had a handful of buddies and their bands play (at Benefest) in years past, and we’ve always heard good things,” he said. “There’s a really supportive community here, and that’s been great to be a part of.”
