As the sun beamed down on the concrete field that is the Athens Skate Park on Saturday, multiple bands from across the country performed while skateboarders swarmed the park. The pounding rock music and thunderous sounds of wheels rolling across pavement signaled one thing: the return of Skate Jam.
The fourth annual music festival took over the Athens Skate Park, located at 701 E. State St., gave attendees musical programming and skating competitions from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m. Tickets to enter the event cost $20, but kids 12 years old and under could get in for free. All proceeds from the event went to maintaining the skate park as well as youth programming for Sojourners Care Network, a nonprofit supporting homeless young people in Southeast Ohio.
Andrea Baird and Emmett Mascha, co-founders and organizers of Skate Jam, said the idea for the festival was born from wanting a live music performance in the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic. From there, it turned into a major fundraising program for both the skate park and homeless youth in the Athens area.
“There wasn't any defining moment, or pre-planning that went into it outside of just wanting to have a spot for my band to play shows,” Mascha said. “I pitched the idea, and then Andrea and (Sojourners Youth Programming) helped shape it into a more proper actually societally beneficial community fundraising event versus just a party.”
Baird said Skate Jam raises around $15,000 each year, which is then split between Sojourners and repairing the skate park.
“Half goes to the programming, the free programming for the youth center, and then half goes to the Athens Arts, Parks and Rec department to directly pay a local concrete company called Ridge Runner to do the repairs and additions to the skate park,” Baird said.
This year, Skate Jam pulled together hardcore punk and rock bands from across the U.S. to perform. Emily Ashenden, lead singer of the punk band 95 Bulls, shared her excitement about taking the stage over 500 miles from the band’s home in New York City. Skate Jam is the first stop on the band’s tour across the midwest, Ashenden added.
"Anything that is community-driven and all-inclusive is something that we leap at no matter what,” Ashenden said. “It's like, the first thing we're looking for. And also anything that has roots in DIY is crucial.”
Ashenden also said Skate Jam was a great opportunity to share 95 Bulls’ music with a wider audience outside of the local NYC hardcore scene.
“We're kind of just trying out this new record that we've been working on before it comes out in the spring,” Ashenden said. “Anyone who's seeing our set right now is going to see a lot of what the new record is going to sound like. I think we're just going to be talking that up a bunch, getting people to keep their ears open for when that comes out.”
Skate Jam also brought local bands to the stage, knitting a punk-rock musical tapestry with geographical diversity.
Dewy D’Amore, lead singer of folk-punk group Judge Russo and an OU alumnus, shared his enthusiasm for this year’s event and his band’s performance and Skate Jam’s mission.
“I think it's for a good cause, and I like people skateboarding,” D’Amore said. “I think it's cooler than doing a lot of other things, like sitting on their phones or doing anything else … one of our old members, Mason, used to be really heavily involved in the Athens skate scene, and so (performing at Skate Jam) always meant a lot to him.”
Skate culture has a very rich history to it, built on free expression, respect for music and the arts and a deep sense of community. Mascha holds a love for skate culture and said the event matches the DIY spirit that has inspired skaters for decades.
“It's not like a sport with a team that has a coach,” Mascha said. “Your team is your friends, you're your own coach, you’re rolling, getting better at skating, biking, whatever, because they just love it to get better at something, push themselves artistic and expressive in that way, and it's very self-driven.”
Mascha and Baird both said they strive to create a safe space at Skate Jam, where new and old skaters alike can come and listen to music while they cruise through the skate park.
“We try to have that (judgment-free) trait of skateboarding present at Skate Jam,” Mascha said. “The diverse demographic of Athens people that end up showing up to the event. We keep track of the age ranges, the states that people represent. People come from California, New Mexico, all over.”
