Giving Tuesday and Funding the Next Year.

We have a lot of good to do in the coming year. We don't think that it is an exaggeration to say that we're going to be doing a lot of damage control and support. This is the pitch to ask for donations and sustaining monthly contributions. We made the organization and have started to show what we can do to support the community and nourish spirits. Now we need to make sure that we take care of our workers and monthly bills.

What a year!

2024 was our first full year! We accomplished so much and we began to see the potential of what Down By Riverside could do for our community. It has been a really exciting time putting together programs and performances and helping out locally.

In February, we had our first Spirit of Music Potluck Concert with the Glen David Andrews Band! 160 people attended and brought some of the best potluck offerings you can imagine. We hosted performances with Athene Wilson & Friends, the Willie J. Laws Band, and the Timba Messengers! In all of these performances Jonathan Gramling and Toussaint the Liberator performed their entrancing vocal and drum style honoring the African American music traditions.

And this summer the stars aligned and we started the process of moving our performances in the Arts Collaborative Medford at 162 Mystic Ave. At the moment that the Porch Southern Fare and Juke Joint closed in July, the investors donated the PA, lights and stage to Down By Riverside, and we started a move into a real brick & mortar space in our own hometown!

Our beautiful banner painting above was created by Michele Boshar, a friend to the organization and an inspiration to our work!

What's to Come:

First, our inaugural concert in the new performance space is the Johnny Williams Blizzard of Blues Birthday concert full of amazing renditions of blues rock classics as well as some orginal music. That's December 12th.

We have an amazing Mardis Gras party coming up on Sunday March 2 in the late afternoon with the Glen David Andrews Band, the Revelry Food Truck. The party with be co-hosted by Jonathan Post, the owner of the Porch Southern Fare & Juke Joint (R.I.P) There will be at least 1 other band playing and maybe more.

Our founder Hendrik will be giving Sound Baths and other programs designed to help people calm themselves and feed their spirits. The next few years will be about self-care and taking care of each other. Here's a demo of what gong-playing sounds like:

We'll be doing at least 2 Thursdays a month with Music for the Soul and Spirit and also have quite a few concerts, sound healing events and dance parties.

If You Can, Please Give

Our fundraising campaign for the Middle School Drama Club Sound System has 95 donors so far, with gifts ranging from $10 to $1000. Every donation matters, and smaller donations mean a lot to us. In addition to providing needed funds, it lets us know that the community appreciates us and the work we are doing!

Year End & Giving Tuesday 2024

By Down By Riverside Inc

Year End & Giving Tuesday 2024

How it went and where we're going