Charlie West Music Fest Launches Saturday

 By Bill Lynch

At its heart, Saturday’s inaugural Charlie West Music Fest on the University of Charleston’s lawn is a fundraiser.

All shows with a ticket price, of course, are, by nature, fundraisers, but this one isn’t to turn a profit. At least, the Charlie West Music Fest isn’t meant to turn a profit for Fund for the Arts, but for the arts groups it supports.

Sarah Wright, the arts organization’s executive director said, “Our sole focus is to raise money for our 11 member arts groups, and you know, there are challenges with today’s landscape.”

Money is tight for the arts. It’s a little worse now since the federal government pulled the plug on funding a few months ago.

Organizations like Fund for the Arts may have to try and pick up some of the slack, and that’s a heavy lift for a small non-profit with just one employee and a bunch of volunteers.

The philanthropic group financially supports small, local arts companies like the West Virginia Youth Symphony, the Charleston Civic Chorus and the Charleston Light Opera Guild.

They really only do two major events each year –the Charlie West Music Fest and the Capitol Cocktail Classic.

“We do quality events,” Wright said. “But we do our events to support these groups, who can then do their quality events.”

The mission she said is to benefit the people of Charleston. Places that have concerts, ballet and theater are just better places to live. They attract new residents and make those living there want to stay.

“Arts is really what makes a city a vibrant, cultural place, where there’s things to do for everyone,” she said. “It’s just what makes a city a joyful place to live.”

The Charlie West Music Fest replaces the Wine & Jazz festival, which was a staple of summer for years.

“We had 25 great years with Wine & Jazz,” she said. “But we saw an opportunity to broaden our audience.”

There’s still jazz, Wright pointed out, but now there’s soul, funk, indie rock and indie hip hop.

“We want to tap into a broader audience,” she said. “Get more people out and make more connections with people in Charleston than we have ever before.”

And they want people to have fun.

In its first year, plans for the next Charlie West Music Fest are up in the air. Because they’re a small organization made up of mostly volunteers, Wright didn’t see it expanding into a big weekend event. She didn’t think it would grow into something like Regatta or FestivALL.

“We just want to be able to help kick off summer in Charleston,” she said. “We want it to be a celebration.”

The vibe is supposed to be casual and family friendly. Festival attendees can bring blankets, lawn chairs and small coolers.

“But no outside beverages except for sealed water bottles,” Wright said.

Wine and beer would be sold at the festival and there would be plenty of food options, she added.

“It’s meant to be like enjoying a day out on the lawn and taking in the scenery,” she said. “The views from the University of Charleston are some of the best. So, we think this is going to be really special.”

Music schedule:

3:00-4:30 Bob Thompson Unit
4:50-6:20 Joslyn & The Sweet Compression
6:40-8:10 Of Good Nature
8:30-10:00 Shwayze

WANT TO GO?

Fund for the Arts presents the Charlie West Music Fest

WHEN: 3 to 10 p.m. Saturday (Gates open at 2:30)

WHERE: University of Charleston lawn

TICKETS: $35

INFO: fundfortheartswv.org