The Fourth of July holiday falls on a Monday this year, which means one thing: Three-day motherfucking weekend. With that in mind, the calendar also states that we’ll all have another day of recovery after rocking out for a good cause, as the Midway Cafe in Jamaica Plain is set to host a two-day, 11 band and artist fundraiser for Cradles To Crayons.
Dubbed Rock The Cradle, the pair of parties scheduled for July 1 and July 2 will raise money for the Brighton-based charity, which provides children in low-income and homeless situations essential education and learning items. On board to provide the tunes over the two nights are Mark Lind, Cactus Attack, Live Nude Girls, Mickey Rickshaw, and other locals, as well as a few out of town bands, like Long Island’s High School Football Heroes and Pennsylvania’s The American Myth.
Organizer Elise Morgan says the charity is something that’s near and dear to her, and she used to frequent the Midway when she lived in Dorchester.
“I’m a nanny in Southie and I used to take the kids to free playgroups at the Tierney Learning Center,” Morgan tells Vanyaland. “A lot of families there live in the projects and benefit from Cradles to Crayons. I heard about the organization from the Tierney Center, and knew immediately I wanted to get involved. I went down to the warehouse where everything happens and met with a woman there — it’s insane how much goes into it.”
Morgan adds: “The show idea was kind of out of nowhere, but within a week I had booked over half the bands, got a sponsorship, locked down the Midway, and received donations to raffle off. Pretty awesome.”
Some of the raffle items include gift cards to Stingray Body Art in Allston, tickets to Red Sox games, Harpoon brewery swag, an Aeronaut gift card, and other stuff. Get more info on the two benefit nights here and here, and get a primer on some of the performing bands via their Bandcamp links below. Full Rock The Cradle lineups are on the flyer after the jump.
