Georgetown University student organizations organized a benefit concert Feb. 15 for Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP), a nonprofit that provides health care to Palestinians and facilitates the development of health services in Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon.
D to Z, a program on student-run WGTB Georgetown Radio, collaborated with Prospect Records, a record label run by Georgetown students, to host the concert. The event raised over $1,000 and featured four bands, including student bands Baltimore Avenue, Sense Memory and Wonk, as well as local band Pinky Lemon.
Daisy Casemore (University of Edinburgh), the organizer for the event and lead singer for Wonk, said she was inspired to organize a charity concert last semester.
“I knew that I wanted to do something,” Casemore told The Hoya. “Last semester I tried to make it happen but didn’t have enough time.”
Casemore, an exchange student from the University of Edinburgh, said her band organically came together during the fall semester and quickly began planning for a charity concert benefiting MAP.
“I wanted to do something to help raise money because I felt pretty useless,” Casemore said. “I had done a benefit concert before in Edinburgh for MAP as well and that was successful, so I just thought, ‘Why not?’”
MAP, a United Kingdom-based charity, has worked with local Palestinian communities to deliver health care services to those affected by conflict, occupation and displacement since 1982. Today, the organization’s work focuses on addressing health disparities amid the Israel-Hamas war.
Casemore said that although initial ticket sales were slow, she was shocked to see dozens of students purchasing tickets at the door.
“I was pushing tickets so hard and they weren’t doing great, and then on the day we sold, I think it was 119,” Casemore told The Hoya. “It was overwhelmingly gratifying on the night, and then I could just enjoy it, instead of stressing out about it, because it’s hard to double up as performer and promoter.”
Rob Cline is a member of Pinky Lemon, a Washington, D.C.- and Philadelphia-based band that performed at the concert. Cline said he felt a responsibility as an artist to use his platform in a meaningful way.
“What’s really the point of doing this if we’re not going to use the small platform that we do have to help in some way?” Cline told The Hoya. “Us, and a lot of other D.C. bands, have been trying to do what we can, and for us that’s raising money by putting on shows.”
Cline said playing in Bulldog Alley allowed him to bring the D.C. music scene to the forefront at Georgetown’s campus.
“It’s nice to kind of bring the D.C. scene onto campus and give people a taste of that,” Cline said. “People were asking us about other shows, we were telling them about other venues like Songbyrd, Pie Shop, The Pocket and these cool venues in the city if you can manage to get off campus.”
Chandler Paulk (CAS ’28), one of the concert’s attendees, said he enjoyed seeing a new venue on campus.
“It was my first time in Bulldog Alley and I was really surprised with the setup,” Paulk wrote to The Hoya. “I’m not exactly sure what I was expecting but it definitely surpassed my expectations.”
Cline said the venue itself and the student turnout on the night of the concert made it all the more successful.
“We love playing college shows, and as a venue, Bulldog Alley is cool,” Cline said. “Good sound, cool stage, nice space and we had a packed house so can’t ask for much else.”
Paulk said the variety of music styles represented by the bands added to the audience’s experience.
“I really enjoyed the bands and especially the fact there was a variety of different types of music presented,” Paulk wrote. “There was definitely a really nice dynamic feeling that came from having the various bands — I was never bored!”
Paulk said he believes performances like the benefit concert help enrich Georgetown’s community.
“It really shows what art and community can do in the face of tragedy and how music can be a form of organizing aid,” Paulk wrote.