Riverfest614

The racket made during the urban-music extravaganza Riverfest614 will supply rackets for needy children across Columbus.

Ten percent of the proceeds from the two-day event at Genoa Park — a follow-up to Summer614 hosted in June — will go to the 22nd Foundation, a nonprofit group that teaches underprivileged children to play tennis.

Bobby Ferguson, founder of the 22nd

Foundation and owner of event organizer B Fame Productions, thinks Riverfest614 fills a void among local festivals.

“There is a huge demand for minorityowned festivals,” he said. “This is minority owned (and) minority run. To be honest, unless there’s a huge production from a national tour, there’s nothing that offers a massive production where it’s really urban driven.”

On Saturday, R&B, soul and hip-hop rule, with performances from R&B quartet Jagged Edge and soulful singer Dwele, among others.

Sunday is all about gospel and jazz, with Byron Cage representing the first genre and Conya Doss the second.

A Friday kickoff event at Copious/Notes in the Brewery District features Cincinnati neo-soul group Natural Progression.

Ferguson is no stranger to music events — he produced the Original Superstars of Hip-Hop series at Cooper Stadium from 2002 to 2009 — but said that doesn’t make a major show any easier.

“It really takes a lot of dedication, hard work, resources and passion,” he said. “You have to build the stages, run electricity, tap into water lines. It’s a huge undertaking, but, at the end of the day, I’m passionate about giving our community and the state of Ohio ... more festival events.”

“We like to have someone on the up and coming,” he said. “A, it’s what we can afford, and B, it keeps things exciting.”