Music To His Ears

Guitarist sees community in blood-drive ‘concert’

Ben Harris has performed at more than a few nontraditional events in the more than 30 years he’s been playing guitar. Yet, he’s still having firsts. When the Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville invited him to play during the blood drive it hosted in May, that was his first blood drive. Now, he’s about to play his third.

“Honestly, they’ve kind of all been unique since the shutdown,” Harris says of what gigs look like these days.

The Oct. 14 blood drive at the Walmart Arkansas Music Pavilion in Rogers will be the fourth one to be held between the two performance venues since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. The Walton Arts Center hosts drives in “normal times,” but with the viral crisis, many drives and donation events have been canceled, and blood supplies across organizations are critically low.

“It’s something that’s such a good cause, that’s so needed right now,” Harris says. “It’s a great thing that they’re opening up their space for people to be able to do that, and they’re also combining it with throwing a little bit of work at some local musicians so that we can have something to do as well. I’m proud to be a part of it.”

During the WAC drives in May, July and Oct. 6-7, the donation area was set up in the lobby of Walker Atrium while musicians were safely distanced as they performed from the balcony. Adding a drive at the AMP presented another unique opportunity of access. Donations must be in a climatecontrolled environment and, as much of the AMP is outside, that only leaves a couple of spaces large enough to accommodate the conditions.

“That new artist catering kitchen is a great space for that,” reveals Jennifer Wilson, PR director for the AMP. After the venue’s $17.2 million expansion and renovation completed this spring, that lounge is double its previous size and offers enough space, power and climate control to host the event, Wilson explains.

“It really is rare for the public to get back in that area. Now, a couple times we’ve had AMP Fest backstage, but it’s usually not in the building. This is one of those opportunities to get in and see the area where artists eat and hang out.”

The added performance element has garnered positive feedback from all sides, Wilson shares: the donors, the drive workers and the artists themselves. Harris’ acoustic guitar, Christian Serrano-Torres’ cello and highlights from past Artosphere Festival Orchestra performances will hopefully make the experience at least a little more enjoyable by providing a calming environment.

“You know, someone said to me early on, when it became apparent that this was going to be going on for a while, ‘When all this stuff does finally go away, there’s going to be more gigs than any of us can handle because people are going to be so ready to go out and experience these things again,’” Harris recalls. “And I think there may be something to that, because I can tell you that the outdoor events that I’ve played just over the last couple months, attendance has been really strong, and engagement with the audiences has been better than it was before. I feel like people missed having live music, and they’re glad to see it back, even in places when they don’t expect it.”

The Oct. 14 drive will be the first partnership with Community Blood Center of the Ozarks. Wilson says the WAC and the AMP are proud to support two community organizations, provide performance opportunities for 10 local artists so far, and give back to the region by offering space for both.

“The two-day blood drive that we did in July, we collected 72 pints of blood and our goal was 50,” Wilson recounts. “According to the Red Cross stats, that blood has the potential to save 216 hospital patients. And then we had 39 first-time donors, which even the Red Cross was impressed for us to have that large of a number.”

With distancing measures, there are limited time slots available. Interested donors are encouraged to make an appointment at cbco.org.

(Courtesy Photo) “For lot of us, playing together at gigs is also our social interaction. It’s not just what we do to go out and make money, it’s also how we spend time with our friends because the people that we play with are our friends,” guitarist Ben Harris says of navigating the pandemic shutdowns as a performer. But he is heartened by the reactions he’s received when he is able to perform, like here at the Walton Arts Center’s blood drive in May. “I feel like we’re going to be a big part of how things do get back to normal because people have been missing it. And as a performer, that makes you feel good to know that people do appreciate live music, and they are looking forward to it coming back.”