Growth by Giving Music Fest returns with expanded lineup and community mission

KEENE — After drawing more than 500 people and raising more than $10,000 for local nonprofits in its inaugural year, the Growth By Giving Music Fest is returning to Keene with two stages, five acts and an expanded festival experience. The second annual festival is scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 6, at Tempesta's Restaurant, 401 Winchester St. Organizers say the event will run from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., with doors opening at 10:30 a.m. Tickets are $40. This year's festival will feature eight hours of live music, from emerging local musicians to nationally touring tribute acts, while continuing an effort to connect businesses, nonprofits and residents through a community event. For co-organizer Joanna Zambella, the response to the first festival demonstrated that the concept resonated locally. "The biggest thing we learned was how responsive the community was to the whole idea," Zambella said. "The businesses, sponsors, vendors, performers, promoters, volunteers, the City of Keene and the people who came out were incredibly positive about what we were doing. We never felt like we had to convince people that this was worthwhile." The Growth By Giving model uses business sponsorships to help support the festival while providing funding and exposure to participating nonprofit organizations. One hundred percent of the festival's net proceeds and raffle sales go to its nonprofit beneficiaries, organizers said. This year's beneficiaries are Keene Housing Kids Collaborative, Linda's Closet, Monadnock Habitat for Humanity and Honeybee Hollow Children's Center. While the charitable component remains central to the event, Zambella said the inaugural festival reinforced another lesson for organizers: The entertainment has to stand on its own. "No matter how good the mission is, you have to put on a great show," Zambella said. "People had fun. They danced. They stayed. They loved the music. And before we were even finished, people were asking us when we were doing it again." This year, organizers have expanded the festival to two stages and five acts representing a variety of genres and generations. Afterthought, an up-and-coming local teen band, is scheduled to open the festival from 11 a.m. to noon. The group blends shoegaze, punk and rock with covers. The band also has a connection to Growth By Giving's inaugural year. Gradey Sampson, then a Keene High School student, attended the festival last year and approached Zambella about his music and the possibility of performing at a future event. "We stayed in touch," Zambella said. "Now Afterthought, a group of incredibly talented young musicians, is opening the festival." The Equalites will follow from noon to 1 p.m. The band blends reggae, rock, roots, dub, ska and R&B, led by guitarist and vocalist David Boatwright. The festival describes the group's music as drawing from traditional reggae while incorporating elements including dub, Afrobeat and rock. New Hampshire Celtic rock band Waking Finnegan will perform on the second stage from 1 to 1:45 p.m. and return from 4 to 4:45 p.m. between the main-stage performances. The group combines electric guitar and drums with fiddle, accordion and whistles, mixing traditional Irish influences with modern rock and pub songs. The afternoon will then shift toward two nationally touring tribute acts. Superunknown is scheduled to perform from 2 to 4 p.m. The group celebrates the music of Chris Cornell and performs material spanning Soundgarden, Audioslave and Temple of the Dog. The band began in 2018 as a solo project featuring vocalist and guitarist Jason Reed before expanding into a full group. It has since performed at venues including the Gramercy Theatre in New York City and World Cafe Live and Underground Arts in Philadelphia. Draw the Line will close the festival from 5 to 7 p.m. with the music of Aerosmith. The Boston-based tribute band was established in 1991 and is billed by festival organizers as the only Aerosmith tribute band officially endorsed by Aerosmith. Its performance is intended to recreate both the music and live experience associated with the rock band. "So you're getting eight hours of music with a huge range of sounds and generations represented," Zambella said. The music isn't the only part of Growth By Giving expanding this year. The festival will include food from Tempesta's, three bars, Kona Ice, a photo booth, milkshakes from Soul & Shadow Emporium and records, CDs and tapes sold by Music Connection. Large monitors will also display information about the nonprofits, sponsors, raffle and festival throughout the day. "We're expanding the vendor area because we want this to feel like a festival, not simply a concert," Zambella said. "We're taking what worked last year and building on it." Organizers are also encouraging people to arrive early and support the opening performers. The first 50 attendees will receive a free Kona Ice, while anyone arriving before noon will be entered to win a portable pizza oven valued at approximately $350 from Monadnock Appliance. Last year's festival generated more than $10,000 in net proceeds for six local nonprofits and was supported by 19 business sponsors and other community partners. Zambella said sponsorships also help organizers maintain the $40 ticket price while paying performers, vendors and service providers. Sponsors receive promotional exposure and participate in selecting nonprofit beneficiaries, while participating organizations receive funding and opportunities to reach new audiences. "We have to deliver marketing value for the businesses, visibility and financial support for the nonprofits, a reasonably priced event for the community, and a great experience for the people who buy a ticket," Zambella said. Organizers hope to exceed last year's attendance and see potential for the festival to continue expanding, including possibly bringing in larger original acts in future years. But Zambella said simply making the event bigger isn't the goal. "I'm not interested in getting bigger simply for the sake of saying we're bigger," Zambella said. "I want it to keep getting better. I want us to raise more money for local nonprofits, provide real marketing value to the businesses that make it possible, introduce people to organizations doing important work here, and give the community an incredible day of music." Ultimately, Zambella hopes Growth By Giving becomes an annual event people throughout Keene and the Monadnock Region look forward to. "As long as it stays rooted in the community and everybody involved continues to get something meaningful out of it," she said, "I want to see how far we can take it."