Show Preview: Jam For Youth

When music and art come together for the sake of helping out a stranger, it’s quite a beautiful thing. One Minneapolis band, Goop City Music, decided to use their platform to raise money for Homeless youth in the Twin Cities area.

Jam for Youth, will be held Tuesday from 9 pm to 1 am at Honey nightclub in North East Minneapolis and all proceeds will go towards The Bridge for Youth. The organization is a shelter that is there for kids who have nowhere else to turn. The event is free, but donations are highly encouraged as The Bridge is a donation funded, non-profit organization.

“I was skateboarding in Uptown (Minneapolis) with my buddy, trying to figure out what we could give back to,” Matthew Palmquist of Goop City Music said. “This kid came up and asked me to ride my skateboard and I was like ‘yeah go for it’ and he started riding around and then came back up to me and said, ‘have you heard of The Bridge for Youth?’”

The kid explained what the Bridge was, and Palmquist knew that was the one. He got the appropriate contact information and from there began organizing shows to benefit the organization.

Not only does The Bridge shelter homeless youth and runaways, it offers a wide range of services including a 24-hour hotline, youth, parent and family counseling, transitional programs and more. The Bridge is dedicated to helping reunite families when they are able and resolving conflicts that may be the root of the issue.

For Palmquist, music isn’t just background noise, it’s his entire life. He began playing shows as Moonshie Sax, and was invited to play at Vital Vibrations Music Festival with Max Altmark, Optimystic, of Lifted Mindz. The two artists formed Goop City Music and with the help of other members Maria Hayes and Joe Nagy. From there Jam for Youth was born.

Kansas City based hip hop artist Negro Scoe with Health Heathen will headline the event along with Goop City Music. The lineup also features local artists such as Xaria, Flowstate, Bubblegum Scum and The Means. Flow artists and live painters will accompany the musical acts, giving the show a festi vibe that we could all use during these short, cold, pre-winter days. And it’s all going towards a really great cause.

“I made this to let kids who are struggling know there’s a community out there who cares, even if your parents don’t,” Palmquist said.  “Music saved my life, so why not use something that saved my life to help others.”

If you’d like to donate or find out more about The Bridge For Youth, visit www.bridgeforyouth.org