LOS ANGELES — What are you here for? That’s the question the Here for LA philanthropy-oriented music festival seeks to answer Saturday at LA River Studios in Elysian Park.
Part problem-solving session, part concert and entirely Gen Z, Here for LA is designed to help the city of Los Angeles solve some of its most intractable problems while also being a place to enjoy local music.
“It really stemmed out of a recognition that the tools and resources at our disposal in the digital and physical world for creating change around different causes didn’t feel effective enough,” said Ethan Kring, 22, a Los Angeles native who grew up in Laurel Canyon.
He said asking, “What am I here for?” instead of “Why am I here?” opens the door to get involved.
Attendees at Saturday’s inaugural Here for LA Fest will be getting involved with three organizations: Homeless Health Care Los Angeles, which provides unhoused individuals with basic necessities such as housing, showers and laundry services; ArtWorxLA, an arts-oriented nonprofit that seek to inspire at-risk high school students to stay enrolled; and L.A. Works, a nonprofit volunteer organization that enables community service projects throughout Los Angeles.
In addition to 25% of the proceeds from ticket sales being donated to each of the three groups, the first half of Here for LA, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., is devoted to workshops, panel discussions and brainstorming sessions about solving thorny LA problems, such as housing homeless individuals, and supporting LA education and the arts.
The second half of the day, from 4 to 11 p.m., is the festival, where 20 local artists will perform. The acts range from avant-garde electronic rock 'n' roller Bonavega and bedroom pop singer Claud to hip-hop artist Asha Imuno, pop punkers Junior Varsity and R&B singer Izzy Spears.
“The music industry felt like this machine that was running on consumption and really lubricated by exponential growth. The irony is that it’s made up entirely of people who do have hearts and probably entered the industry because of their heart,” Kring said. “A really big reason for jumping into this project was we basically felt the music industry has so much potential to reach people where their hearts are, and that potential isn’t being met as highly as it could.”
Over the summer, Kring partnered with Stella Blue, 21, who dropped out of the music industry program at the University of Southern California to make Here for LA a reality.
“As cheesy as it is, music really is a universal language. Wanting to make change around the world, using a universal language is the best way to do that,” said Blue, who, like Kring, has never organized a musical festival before.
But the two joined forces, recruited friends and reached out to the local acts they not only enjoyed listening to but who also cared about making LA a better place. All of the acts will take the stage in the LA River Studios in Elysian Park in a space that is set up like a warehouse show, with three separate performance rooms: a main stage that can hold about 500 people, a sub stage with a capacity of 300 and a DJ room that can hold 100. Kring and Blue expect about 1,200 people Saturday.
In addition to the music, there will be various experiences, including an ‘80s-style arcade, a 10-by-10-foot plexiglass box with a car inside that attendees can smash and an obstacle course rock-climbing room called the cave that can be exited with a slide that whisks people away to the DJ room. They can dance the night away surrounded by projections on the walls, floor and ceiling.
“I think people are going to be very surprised when they show up on Saturday. It’s not a big grass field with the traditional tents of food and all that stuff, “ Blue said. “We really wanted to make something that was very different from the existing array of charity festivals out there.”
Instead, Here for LA’s organizers, all of whom are under the age of 25, “wanted to make something that felt really true to the community,” Blue said. “We want it to feel DIY, and we want it to feel very home brewed. We want everyone to know that the people making everything that you’re seeing literally put their hands in the dirt and made it from scratch.”
Saturday’s Here for LA Fest is the kickoff to what its founders hope will be a global event series focused on hyper-local, philanthropic community activism.
“The idea is that every few months, we can be here for another city,” Blue said. “We want to be here for London. We want to be here for San Francisco, here for Oklahoma, here for Tokyo. Why just keep it to LA, when there are so many other places that have needs?”