A free benefit concert, “Rise Up Raleigh,” will be held this Friday to raise funds for Raleigh’s worst hit victims of the April 16 tornadoes. As the event’s website states, the concert also aims to celebrate the community and efforts of everyone “who saved many lives and helped put back the pieces of many, many more.”
Rise Up Raleigh will run from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. at the Raleigh Amphitheater and will feature 12 artists, both local and out of state, and feature a range of genres. The full lineup includes The Love Language, The Small Ponds, Young Cardinals, Marshetta Parker, Red Sonja Band, Marcy Playground, Alissa Morena, Motor Skills, Desafiados Musical, The Connells, and Kooley High.
According to Jayne Kirkpatrick, director of the Raleigh Public Affairs Department, this concert is an unconventional attempt to help raise money and awareness for those affected by the tornadoes.
“We wanted to see how to use the city’s assets to raise funds for the families that lost everything,” Kirkpatrick said. “This is about bringing the city together in light of a traumatic event.”
According to Kirkpatrick, one thing was very clear from the start: “Every cent has to go to storm victims.”
“We had an overwhelmingly positive response from the local and out-of-state bands we contacted,” Kirkpatrick said. “Unfortunately, because we had a planning timeframe of only a month, a lot of bands that would have loved to come won’t be able to because of prior commitments.”
Kirkpatrick also said Raleigh hasn’t done anything of this magnitude in a long time and encouraged the community to come out and show its support.
All donations will be taken at the gate, though online donations are also encouraged, with the ultimate goal to reach $100,000. Kirkpatrick said she thinks this will be possible if the event has a big crowd filtering in and out throughout that night. Street performers and vendors will also be in the surrounding areas along Lenoir and Cabarrus streets, which, along with other parts of downtown, will be bustling with activities for First Friday.
Kooley High, a New York-based hip-hop group, got its start in Raleigh and consists made up of former N.C. State students – all of whom said they were delighted and proud to help out their hometown.
“I’m happy to see North Carolina come together to help our neighbors in need, and I’m honored Kooley was asked to be a part of it,” Kooley High MC Marlanna Evans, also known as “Rhapsody,” said. “To have a big night like this, with music of all genres, and people of all ethnicities and religions doing something positive for the community is what makes me proud to represent North Carolina. My heart goes out to all the families affected by the tornadoes, and we’re going to give all we have on that stage for them.”
Another MC, Taylor Burgess, also known as “Tab-One,” said the group was in Raleigh when the tornado hit, and spent the next day driving around the city and surveying the damage.
“We love this city,” Burgess said. “So when the opportunity to play this benefit show came up, we knew it was a way we could help out our home and our community. Some people lost a lot…it’s the least we can do.”
All of the donations will go to the following local charities and shelters currently serving the tornado victims: The Salvation Army of Wake County, Centro Internacional de Raleigh, Helping Hand Mission and The Inter-Faith Food Shuttle.
This is the first time the Food Shuttle, which provides fresh produce to low-income community members, has been involved in such a large event, said Melissa Hartzell, chief development officer.
The Food Shuttle was one of the first responders to the tornadoes of April 16. The charity was providing around 150,000 pounds of hot meals – about 1,000 meals a day at one point – for families in need, according to Hartzell.
According to the event’s website, a total of 138 Raleigh homes were destroyed in the storms and nearly 700 homes sustained major damage. Overall Raleigh suffered more than $115 million in residential and commercial structural damage.
