Local bands unite to combat hunger in Columbia in inclusive way
The Conundrum Music Hall stage is 16 feet long and 11 1/2 feet wide. The ballroom is a mere 20-by-40-feet with a legal maximum occupancy of 99 people.
Tonight at 8, it will be filled close to capacity, as four local bands perform to benefit a global organization.
Food Not Bombs was created in 1980 in Cambridge, Mass., by a group of anti-nuclear activists. Almost two decades later, a couple of USC students created a chapter based on the goal, as the organization says on its website, of changing society “so no one is forced to stand in line to seek their food at a soup kitchen.”
Since its founding in 2002, the Columbia Food Not Bombs chapter has shared food with protest groups and hurricane survivors and even provided food for those participating in the “Truthful Tuesday” rally last week on the State House grounds.
The proceeds from tonight’s concert will be donated to help feed people in Columbia. The group also meets every Sunday at 1 p.m. in Finlay Park to take food to an average of 150 people. Food Not Bombs describes the process as “sharing,” because volunteers contribute by supplying food, serving to the public, setting up tables and cleaning the grounds afterwards.
The local bands listed on the lineup for this evening’s showcase are Chris Compton and The Ruby Brunettes, The Post-Timey String Band, Dr. Roundhouse and Pharaohs In Space. Each band has a unique sound and different history, but all share two common factors: their support for Food Not Bombs and their deep roots in Columbia.
Rhythm-and-blues duo Kelley McLachlan and Sean Thomson, also known as The Post-Timey String Band, will be performing songs off their new album, “Porch Songs.” The Columbia natives are “excited and honored to be playing for such a great cause.”
Also performing on the stage is Dr. Roundhouse, who has a unique sound that can only be described as alternative rock-country. The band consists of Nate Poston on bass guitar, Nick McGill on the drums and Jon Coxe and Russell Goodman sharing guitar and vocals.
Described as a “3-piece garage” band, Pharaohs In Space have established a well-deserved fan base in Columbia.
Performing on stage tonight will be Ryan Morton, Jorg Hohmann and Zach White, who released their new album, “Cackalakistan,” at the Jam Room last year. Morton, who spoke on behalf of the group, said, “It’s always a pleasure to play at benefits like this.”
Chris Compton and the Ruby Brunettes are a “baroque folk-pop” band composed of Catherine Allgrim on trombone and vocals, Ashleigh Morse on keyboards, Jason Switzer on guitar and front man Chris Compton.
Compton described the Conundrum Music Hall as “one of the best listening rooms in Columbia” and as a “great place to showcase some of the deeper material we wouldn’t usually play at your average bar scene.”
The Ruby Brunettes have budding friendships with the other bands performing tonight and share “the same mindset when it comes to helping out a good cause,” he said.
Maris Burton, a local Food Not Bombs volunteer, called the event an “opportunity for people to feed their souls with foot-stomping, finger-snapping music and by doing so help Food Not Bombs fill the bellies of hungry people, including students, families and, yes, homeless people, too.”