Center Stage food drive to help those in music, production community

More than 95% of music venue employees are furloughed and about 90% of venues nationwide are at risk of bankruptcy.

Those are the grim figures from the National Independent Venue Association, the group formed this year to preserve independent venues and promoters.

Today, Center Stage in Midtown will host “Feed the Crew!” — a holiday food drive to help those in the local music and production community.

The Atlanta venue has teamed with Elektra Gives Back—the employee-led resource group of the Elektra Music Group — and Musically Fed, the nonprofit dedicated to providing food to the homeless, hungry and food insecure. In October, Musically Fed, which shifted its focus once the pandemic hit to take care of those in the music industry, staged a drive- thru food distribution at Infinite Energy Center.

“Feed the Crew !” will accept donations of non-perishable foods from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Those who want to donate can pull into the Center Stage garage, free of charge, and drop off items.

All COVID- 19 guidelines and safety requirements will be followed, but for those who prefer completely contactless drop- off, industry volunteers can pick up items from the vehicle trunk.

“As we s pent our days fighting for survival as a business, it wasn’t lost on me that many of our peers are spending their days fighting for personal survival,” said Josh Antenucci, partner at Rival Entertainment, which manages Center Stage. “When given the opportunit y to partner with Elektra and do some common good, it was a no- brainer.”

Food donations will be t urned i nto holiday meal boxes and di st ributed by Musically Fed on Dec. 18 to workers in the Atlanta music business. Online donations can be submitted to Musically Fed at musicallyfed.org. Those in the local music community who want to inquire about receiving a meal box can contact info@rivalentertainment.com.