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PHOTO COURTESY OF MATT COUGHLIN

BENEFIT ROCK. Matt Coughlin is one of seven musical acts that will be performing at Rock the Cause at Jazzbones May 18. The show is a partnership of Love Tacoma and Project: U with $5 of every ticket purchased going to benefit United Way.

Rocking for a good cause

Project: U and Love Tacoma bring you seven local acts with $5 of each ticket sold going to United Way

By Ben Miller

For only $8, Tacoma area residents can rock out for charity May 18 at Jazzbones. Project: U and Love Tacoma are teaming up to bring seven local acts together for Rock the Cause, with $5 of each ticket sold going to benefit the United Way.

“This will be a great way to introduce so many people to the local music scene we have going on in Tacoma,” said city spokesperson Roxanne Murphy. “And it will be a nice way to give back to the community on top of that.”

Murphy said that the idea came about from hearing attendees at Love Tacoma events talk about their desire for a music show in Tacoma featuring area bands. So, Murphy talked to Project: U – an organization affiliated with the United Way geared toward people in their 20s and 30s – and they formed an alliance to bring some area bands together for one big show.

The musical acts that will be performing are Evan Purcell, Fear Train Caravan, Matt Coughlin, Nasty Left, Paris Spleen, Vamanos and Trip the Light Fantastic. All seven groups are performing for free at the charity show. “It should be a gangbuster event,” Murphy said.

Kathryn Schwarz, a leadership team member with Project: U, said that Project: U has wanted to team up with Love Tacoma for some time. And, in this show, they have found a perfect way to do so.

“We know Roxanne and we know Love Tacoma and we’ve been looking for an opportunity to do an event with Love Tacoma,” Schwarz said. “We have similar audiences and we kind of wanted to harness the power of both of us.”

The lineup of bands is a diverse one that should give all attendees a chance to see a type of music that they enjoy. Fear Train Caravan and Trip the Light Fantastic perform more of an alternative and indie kind of set while Nasty Left is a hip-hop group. Then there are the folk stylings of Matt Coughlin and the garage band sound of Vamanos.

“I think it will be a good, diverse crowd because so many people follow these bands on their own,” Murphy said. “We want anyone and everyone to come out and support local music and support the community through Project: U.”

The doors to the show open at 2 p.m.

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