Guitars for Guatemala Recap

Two Sundays ago was Guitars for Guatemala, a day long music fundraiser at East 54 Urban Village. The purpose of the festival was to raise money for my trip to Safe Passage in Guatemala. The festival started around 11am when I took the stage for an hour. There was a fair amount of people at Streets Deli and we had a big table set up with raffle prizes, information about Safe Passage, and information about the East 54 Music Series.
For the beginning set I probably should have used some sunscreen because the sun was on my face the whole time. It got a little hot but it was a great time playing. Then Dashton came on from 12-12:45. I had only heard a Dashton play a couple songs before so it was great to hear him play a full set. After Dashton was Hearyonder, this was my first time hearing them and I loved the duo of Nellie and Justin's voices. After Hearyonder played we had Puritan Rodeo come on... Proof that it is a small world: Kate Morrison, who I have played lots of Ultimate Frisbee with, turned out to be the flute player for Puritan Rodeo.
After Puritan Rodeo was Tom Maxwell, formerly of the Squirrel Nut Zippers. Tom and Justin Johnson played some duos and it was great to hear them feeding off of each others energy. After Tom Maxwell was Rootzie, only Gregory Blaine could come but he played a great set of some classic blues and originals. Justin Johnson played a couple with Gregory and then I had the honor of playing a couple tunes with Gregory and Justin Justin Johnson. Then came John Saylor, who brought it all on the stage, ranging from playing classics to imitating cicada noises. We had a little time to spare after John came off so we had a local musician, Alex Joustra play a set.

The night was coming close to the end so it was time for me and Justin Johnson to take the stage. We played a short set to finish the night off, ending with Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen. This meant a lot to me because Hallelujah was the song that really connected me with the children at Safe Passage. When I was down at Safe Passage in 2009 they would always tell me to play "cancion de shrek" because they knew the song Hallelujah as the theme song from Shrek, the movie. After Hallelujah we had the raffle drawings and announced the winners.

I would like to thank everybody who helped make this event possible. I would like to thank all of the musicians for donating their time and gift of music, I would like to thank all of the local businesses that donated items to the raffle, and I would like to thank everyone who came out to Guitars for Guatemala and helped support me on my trip to Safe Passage. I would like to give a special thanks to Anna Young, who came and set up a table displaying her handcrafted jewelry and designs, as well as for donating a beautiful necklace to the raffle. I would also like to give an enormous thank you to Nikki for her amazing help organizing the whole event and making it possible. Nikki and Justin Johnson have helped give me a step up into the Triangle music scene and I cannot thank them enough for all they have done for me. I wish them the best of luck while I'm away on my travels, and I hope to come back and hear about how successfulness the East 54 music series that she has helped run has been.

I am currently in Washington DC right now, figuring out how to get my visa for studying abroad in Ecuador in the fall before I leave for Guatemala on Thursday. Its looking like it will all work out, and I already have plans for Thursday evening when I arrive in Antigua, Guatemala. I will be meeting Mike McCarthy, the guitar teacher at Safe Passage, who will be playing a gig at Cafe No Se in Antigua and he has invited me to play some tunes with him. So hopefully this will lead me into the music scene in Antigua. My first day at Safe Passage will be this Friday and I can't wait. I'm so excited that I finally get to return, I feel like I've been waiting for two years for this to happen. When I post next I will be in Guatemala and will have already played music live and started volunteering at Safe Passage.

Thanks again to everyone for their support!
Until next time - Tristan Green

IMPORTANT: Location Change for Guitars for Guatemala

GUITARS FOR GUATEMALA!!! Fundraising Festival @ East 54 Urban Village
Address: 1118 Environ Way, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
When: 11am-8pm

In the spring of 2009, Tristan Green spent 3 months volunteering as a Teachers Assistant for Safe Passage (www.safepassage.org), an organization that works to provide access to education and opportunities for work & life beyond the confines of poverty for (currently) 550 children and 70 adults who represent over 300 families living in the vicinity of the Guatemala City garbage dump.

Following his experience with Safe Passage, Tristan became certified to teach English as a second language, and is currently studying Environmental Studies at UNC, all with the goal of returning to Guatemala this June, to volunteer again with Safe Passage tutoring English and teaching guitar & song-writing to those children, and using his environmental studies education in helping with a research project involving Water Filters with the local community.

He will be traveling to Guatemala from the first week in June through mid-August, during which time he will maintain a video blog where he will upload videos of his experiences there, as well as songs that he writes while traveling. You can follow his progress & check out those songs at:
(http://tristanlatinamericantravels.blogspot.com/2011/04/pre-departure-plans.html)

We couldn't be more impressed with Tristan's follow-through and dedication to sharing his gifts & interests in such a meaningful way! After seeing him get passed over for a couple of very competitive grants he applied for, we decided to organize a fundraiser to help him continue with his efforts and make the return trip a reality, both for him and for the joy it will surely bring those children & families to see him again! (Any amount raised over the expense of the trip will be donated directly to Safe Passage)

Several of the area's most talented performers/bands have graciously offered to donate their time, and the line up currently looks like this!! :

11-11:45 Tristan Green (Acoustic / Singer-Songwriter)
www.reverbnation.com/tristangreen
12-12:45 dAshton (Folk / Indie / Alt Country)
www.reverbnation.com/dashton
1-2 hearyonder (Acoustic Folk Pop / Country)
www.hearyonder.com
2:30-3:30 Puritan Rodeo (Americana / Rock / Roots Music)
www.puritanrodeo.com
4-5 Tom Maxwell (Post-Zipper Americana)
www.tommaxwell.com
5:30-6:30 Rootzie (Blues / Reggae / Soul)
www.myspace.com/therootzieband
7-7:30 John Saylor (Acoustic/Folk)
www.myspace.com/johnsaylormusic
7:30-8 Justin Johnson & Tristan Green: Closing Set & Raffle!

*All Day Justin Johnson (Jazz / Blues / Fusion)
www.justinjohnsonlive.com
Justin will be sitting in on some of the sets and performing in between each set while the bands switch over, so that the music will never stop!! :)

Flanking the courtyard and stage are Streets Deli, Piola Italian Restaurant, Archira Thai & Sushi, and Saffron Indian Cuisine, so there is something for every taste, and ALL have outdoor seating! Saffron will also be setting up wine and beer tents, as well as food vending by the stage, so come enjoy the festival atmosphere!

We'll also have local art, locally handmade jewelry, and a RAFFLE for awesome prizes!
If you haven't been to East 54 Urban Village, there's definitely nothing more relaxing or enjoyable than an afternoon in the courtyard, basking in the sunshine with music on the outdoor stage and food & drinks a'plenty ... AND it's for a great cause!
Come on out and enjoy an amazing afternoon & evening with us in Chapel Hill's grooviest courtyard!

Oh! And be sure to tune in to WCOM 103.5 FM's Festival Forum with Cameron Alworth on Tues, May 17th from 5-6:30pm
Tristan will be talking about his experiences with Safe Passage, and his goals for his return trip, and the participating musicians have agreed to drop by the station to give on-air performances so you can get a taste of the festival while we wait to bring it to you!