The first round of artists have been announced for the Rise of the Phoenix concert.
The much anticipated Rise of the Phoenix concert, which aims to benefit The Union Bar & Grill and the uninsured equipment lost after the West Union Street fire Nov. 16, now has a venue. Five of them in fact.
The concert will take place at Casa Nueva, Tony's Tavern, The Over Hang, The Pigskin and Jackie O's Pub & Brewery Dec. 18.
Artists playing throughout the night include Sassafraz, Scubadog, Weird Science, HellNaw, Bright At Night, Boomslang, DadARM, Manitoa and more. There are two slots still to be announced.
"A lot of people have come up to me and say 'why are you doing this for The Union? Don't they have insurance?'" said Hil Hackworth, organizer of the multi-venue event and local hip-hop artist. "There is a lot more that needs to be covered than was is covered by the insurance."
He said much of the music equipment housed in The Union was owned by the employees and donated to the space to further better it, thus this equipment is not insured. There was also instruments stored in the space by performers and employees alike.
"This benefit from the minute I started it was all about the home grown benefit for the musicians to give back to the venue of The Union," Hackworth said.
Auctions will be held at Casa Nueva and Jackie O's that day as well with items donated from a number of uptown businesses. Hackworth said there are a number of "high-ticket items" that will go on sale including a hand-crafted guitar.
While many students will be out of town, Hackworth said that it was the first available date he could book before the end of the year.
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This story was updated Dec. 10 to include the latest schedule of bands playing for the concert.
