Freelance photographer Leah Nairn is documenting this year’s Afterschool Music and Audio Programs at Stuart’s Opera House, following roughly 65 students who will form ten bands with the ultimate goal of performing during the Nelsonville Music Festival.
ATHENS, Ohio — Two bands from the Afterschool Music and Audio Programs at Stuart’s Opera House performed at The Union and Casa Nueva and Cantina Friday, Nov. 21, during the annual Benefest. Benefest is a long-standing event in Athens that brings together two nights of live, local music in support of area nonprofit organizations.
Scott Windland, longtime local music promoter with Blackout Booking and director of the Hocking College Music and Recording Industry program, started the event in 2010. Over the years, various local venues and bands have participated.
“I’m floored by the after-school music program at Stuart’s,” Windland told the Independent. “As an Athens native, I’m so glad this program exists, and I wish this was around when I was a kid.”
This year’s event raised $3,000, which will go toward the AMP program and The Gathering Place, a local peer-support agency serving adults who have experienced mental health and addiction.
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