2023 is the year of community. People need it, people want it, but how do we hold on to community? Community is held through the creation of a physical space where events, workshops, and skill sharing is held.

*Justin Arena and I playing in Pittsburgh,PA*

My bandmate Justin Arena and friend Brian Fitzgerald is attempting to do this very thing in the South Shore of Massachusetts by creating the Together Community Art Center( TCAC) . While I am from Philadelphia and currently live in the outskirts of Boston I have come to learn that localism and local support is very strong in Massachusetts. Arena and their colleagues are striving to maintain community and build something that they wish they had as a youth.

*Photo of me playing at the third Annual Together Fest at the Chess Company in Rockland,MA*

Arena’s vision for the TCAC is to “create a cultural center that they never got as a child.” While the South Shore and Greater Boston area is a home for many great musicians, performers, and comedians it does lack an all inclusive space that supports marginalized individuals and provides extra curricular resources for creatives. The TCAC will be a future hub for creatives looking to find a new home.

As a DIY folk punk and multi-genre musician we all know that all ages spaces are needed across every town and city in America and the world. The TCAC is something bigger than an art space for music to be performed, it’s a hub for growth, community, and creative building for the unheard and the ones who wish to be seen.

If you believe that the arts need a village to grow and we all need to bridge the gap between access and creativie growth please consider spreading the word and providing a donation.