Charity Concert a Success

Binghamtronica, the charity benefit festival to raise money for organizations Oxfam Japan and HeadCount.org, was a success, to say the very least.

I was told that as a first time promoter it would be near impossible to post a profit on a benefit concert. Not only did we manage to do just that, the concert also succeeded at entertaining each and every participant. Sure, we faced a few challenges on the day of the show, but overall, the night went off with a bang.

The evening kicked off with local electronica sensation SOLARiS opening up the night with unbelievable energy. They even busted out a crowd pleasing version of “Linus and Lucy,” the Peanuts/Charlie Brown theme song. Next up was Binghamtronica veteran Horizon Wireless, who not only came prepped with heavy beats and powerful breakdowns, but was also accompanied by the well-respected drummer of the band Digi Front, Sol Montoya. Montoya’s tight drumming and relentless intensity combined with Horizon’s beats made the set unforgettable. Then, synth master Jeff Bujak tore it up on stage and from what I witnessed, surprised a few concert goers who were previously unfamiliar with his work. InK Line, a popular DJ amongst Binghamton students, played only the set break for Brothers Past, but laid down the darkest, most bass-heavy set of the night to a full room of party goers who were raging their hardest by then.

Brothers Past, the night’s headliner, was fantastic. The Philly-based Jamtronica band's first set was tight – a memorable hour plus – to say the least. Unfortunately, due to time constraints their second set was replaced with a double encore. By this point in the evening I finally decided to just let loose and enjoy the fruits of my, and many other individuals’. labor. After months of planning, patience and more planning, it became apparent to my co-coordinator Kristen and I that the last thing being demanded of us was to finally enjoy ourselves. For the second encore she decided to climb onto the stage and dance with Brothers Past, only to pull me up a few seconds later. For the last song of the night, the two people who put on the show were part of the show and we partied on stage hyping up the crowd to a fever pitch.

Through tickets sales and the generosity of our vendors, we netted several thousand dollars for Oxfam and HeadCount, while also raising awareness about the two nonprofits. Now a large portion of the Binghamton community and the university population is well-aware of what HeadCount and Oxfam do.

But the fundraising isn’t done yet. The artist collective trifectopaint performed a live painting at the event and it is currently on sale. Proceeds from its sale will be donated to Oxfam Japan and HeadCount, making Binghamtronica all the more successful.