This year, Haverford Music Fest goes virtual
HAVERFORD » “At least we don’t have to worry about the weather this year.”
That’s how Tom Kelly, organizer of the popular Haverford SpringFest and owner of Kelly Music for Life, is looking on the bright side these days as he and his team of volunteers finalize plans for the 7th Annual Haverford Spring Fest - this year as the first Virtual Spring Fest.
The festival, usually held on a Sunday afternoon in mid-May on Brookline Boulevard, is going virtual this year with an expanded lineup. Since its inception, half of the spring events have been hit with bad weather but still go on, rain or shine. This year, performers and attendees alike won’t need to worry about wet equipment, raincoats or jumping puddles - they can sit in the comfort of their own homes during this Live Stream-from-Home event and enjoy the wonderful local and national talent the festival always features. In fact, concert goers can tune in over the course of three days, May 15, 16 and 17. The lineup this year will include over 50 performers.
The mission of Kelly Music For Life, which formed as a nonprofit volunteer organization in 2012, is to support the live arts and music education through festivals, concerts, and music programs. Last year, the organization bought and refurbished a storefront on Eagle Road and opened the Kelly Center, an intimate performance space featuring the New Avenue Cafe, which employs adults with disabilities. Live music could be found there on many evenings before COVID-19 forced it to close its doors in March.
Kelly Music for Life is the organizer of Havertown’s Music Fest, Irish Fest, Italian Fest, and others, in addition to the Spring Fest. In past years, the Spring Fest has drawn as many as 10,000 attendees. This year, the organizing team held a meeting soon after the reality of social distancing made it clear this first festival of the year would not take place. They opened it up to ideas and turned a negative into a positive.
“We are turning lemons into lemonade” said Kelly, chairman and executive director. “We’d rather be outside. But delivering entertainment this way has allowed us to expand the format and include many more performers. The global pandemic affects our community, performers, businesses and the mission of our non-profit organization.”
To be sure there’s been a learning curve, both for the organization and for the performers. The center invested in new broadcast software. Likewise performers, who usually thrive on a live audience, have had to adapt and become receptive to virtual showcases.
“We been dabbling with the idea. And I picked up this broadcast software that we use, so we’re learning that. Necessity is the mother of invention, so we’re learning. I feel confident can put on a good broadcast for Spring Fest weekend.”
The group hopes this event will be able to use music and arts to bring people together during these trying times.
“There’s a lot of reasons to be sad right now with people getting sick and dying, being isolated. So there’s all of this to deal with. At a meeting we had of the event team we started talking about the idea of doing something. The way the meeting started, it was social distancing will be in effect for some time, so it look like it’s being cancelled. So it went from being cancelled to well, let’s talk about other things we can do. As it turns out, it’s turned into something positive we can do which the performers all love and we all love it because we’re able to use music and arts to bring people together. And we can help raise some money for some of these professional performers who are without work. The venues are all shut down so they can’t work, and now we can share some of the money with them. We’ve traditionally supported music education here at Haverford Township so we can continue to do that, and we can help some of the local food banks which have been hit hard these days,” said Kelly.
“In times of crisis,” Kelly continued, “music and the arts have the unique power to create shared experience. Music and the arts remind us of the essential nature of human connection. Music and the arts are needed now more than ever.”
The groups also looked to how other performers were pivoting during these times and their experience the past few weeks with live broadcasts. For one, the Facebook group, “Delco Quarantine Open Mic,” has become very popular with over 13,000 members. At the Kelly center, some performers who were originally booked to perform at the center before the shutdown have been featured on live broadcast over the past couple of weeks, with favorable reception.
“The shows that we put on the broadcast stream are free admission. Obviously they were supposed to be paid shows for the
90 people the Kelly center can hold. And we had between 1,0001,500 people tune in for all or part of those shows,” he said. Those shows encouraged the group to think outside the box for the upcoming festival.
The festival will be an opportunity to provide much more content than just a live broadcast. “We’re trying to make it a little more special from someone who just posts on Facebook,” noted Kelly. The event will be a hosted event, with brief interviews with performers, adding depth to the experience. Most of the show will feature professional musicians showcasing a higher caliber of music, but will also feature young talent including high school age performers in the lineup, in keeping with the group’s mission.
“People are looking for entertainment. They’ve watched everything there is to watch on Netflix!” This will provide a higher caliber experience.
While the Spring Fest is free, the group is asking for donations during the event and on its website to support music and the arts in the area. Unfortunately, many large sponsors of the event in previous years, like Acme Markets, are not involved this year. They can’t set up a booth and have the visibility as usual, But there are others who have given grants because they support the idea, including Adam Mechanical and Comcast, said Kelly.
“We did ask for donations on Giving Tuesday this week, and we’re very grateful for those who stepped up. The bottom line is, we’re closed, we’re not allowed to operate, but at same time we still have mortgage payments, insurance, utilities, etc. We have some generous donors but we need to get open soon. If this continues too long, we will be in serious trouble. This Virtual Spring Fest will help us get through this.
“I am particularly grateful to Haverford Township Manager Dave Burman and our commissioners for working with us in this unique situation by reaching an agreement to air a delayed broadcast of Virtual Spring Fest on Haverford Township’s Cable TV channels. Delivering this community event online and on Cable TV means everyone can enjoy this event from the comfort and safety of their own home,” said Kelly.
For schedule updates visit https://kellycenter.ticketleap.com/virtual-haverford-springfest/details
Watch on Facebook: at https://www.facebook.com/KellyCenterMusicArtsCommunity
Watch on YouTube: at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCba8ofvmH0VXcWFEe3pI-GA Virtual Haverford Spring Fest is Free for everyone to enjoy. Pay what you can. Donations are appreciated. https://www.Paypal.me/KellyMusicForLife By check payable to Kelly Music for Life 4 E. Eagle Road, Havertown, PA 19083.