Home » Community News » Downtown After 5 Goes Live Stream, Immediate Support for Area Music Professionals
Your Ad Here - Advertise with us!
downtown after 5
Photo by Elliot Schwartz

Downtown After 5 Goes Live Stream, Immediate Support for Area Music Professionals

The Asheville Downtown Association (ADA) and Foundation (ADAF) today announced that they’re taking Downtown After 5 virtual, as well as a new program to directly support Asheville music professionals.

Based on state and local guidelines regarding public gatherings, the May 15 and June 19 Downtown After 5 events are going online. Through a partnership with IamAVL and The Orange Peel, Downtown After 5 will be live streamed to YouTube and Facebook.

The 2020 Downtown After 5 concert series, presented by Prestige Subaru, will feature all local Asheville area bands. Band information will be announced soon.  

“It’s important to us to not only stay engaged with our Downtown After 5 audience, but to also put some local musicians and music professionals back to work doing what they love,” said Meghan Rogers, executive director of the Asheville Downtown Association and Foundation. “It’s also important to us that we follow all requirements from state and local officials in terms of gathering size, sanitization practices and physical distancing,” she added.

The May 15 Downtown After 5 will also be part of V-LEAF, a virtual celebration of LEAF Global Arts May LEAF Festival, which was postponed due to COVID-19.

 Through an initial contribution of $8,000 from the ADAF, including funding from an anonymous charitable foundation and the Brown Family Charitable Fund, plus additional support from Ingles Markets and Asheville Music Professionals, the program will provide 200 $50 Ingles gift cards to local music industry professionals.

Asheville Music Professionals (AMP) will administer the program on a first-come-first-serve basis, with applications going live on Friday, May 8 at noon here. Applicants must reside in Western North Carolina and be a member of AMP (membership is free). A recent survey by AMP identified access to food and supplies as one of many areas of concern for local music professionals.

“Music is the main component of events like Downtown After 5, so we feel a connection with the local music community,” Rogers added. She continued, “Artists were among the first to feel the impacts of the pandemic as gigs and events were canceled, and we wanted to find a way to offer some immediate support.”

Downtown After 5 is scheduled for July 17, August 21 and September 18. It’s possible that these events will need to go virtual as well. The Asheville Downtown Association will follow all state and local guidelines for community events with the safety of the community taking top priority.

Virtual Downtown After 5 is presented by Prestige Subaru and sponsored by Explore Asheville Convention and Visitors Bureau and Carolina Hemp Company with additional charitable support.

 

 About The ADA:

The mission of the Asheville Downtown Association is to be a leader and advocate for the vitality of downtown Asheville. The ADA produces many of downtown’s top events including Downtown After 5, the Independence Day Celebration, Oktoberfest and the Asheville Holiday Parade.

 

The Asheville Downtown Association Foundation supports the work of the ADA through public art initiatives, programs and resources for small business, and data collection.

 

About Staff Writer

This article was brought to you by one of our awesome staff writers. Some of our writers don't want the fame and glory that comes along with being awesome, so we respect their privacy. Want to tell them how good their work is? Write a comment below and leave them some love!