Collegiate Times

This Saturday afternoon, the brothers of Sigma Phi Epsilon, Sigma Chi and Sigma Alpha Epsilon bring together two of everyone's favorite Blacksburg pastimes - music and beer - to benefit the Music Resource Center.

The MRC is a Charlottesville-based organization dedicated to inspiring young people through music. The three Tri Sig fraternities are hosting the first annual Roktoberfest, a daylong charity music festival featuring the Pat McGee Band as well as local bands Always Morning, Natural Ingredients and the Shack Band at TOTS.

"Each band has their own sound and texture to their music," said Mason Owen, bassist of the Shack Band.

Owen describes his group's sound as "classic rock-influenced stuff, some covers, jam-rock, blues, jazz fusion - really anything that goes. We even cover rap songs."

Despite the fact that each of the bands bring its own sound, all the bands have one thing in common: a dedication to the cause.

"This is a more tangible cause than most events because we play music too," Owens said. "This is more close to home, so to speak."

The Music Resource Center's mission to help at-risk youth through music is an easy cause for many people to identify with. The brothers of Tri Sig hope people's love for music as well as their desire to help a charity encourages them to come out and support the event Saturday.

"The charity concert is a new idea," said Michael Doughty, president of Sigma Chi.

Doughty believes many will enjoy Roktoberfest because it gives people the chance to enjoy one long day of festivities rather than week-long philanthropic events commonly hosted by other Greek organizations.

For participating sororities, the concert is part of a competition where points will be awarded based on attendance. The brothers want to be clear, however, that this event is not closed to the Greek community and that they encourage everyone to support a cause that the three fraternities plan to make an annual event.

"We are hoping to have it in the October or November range every year now, and possibly extend it," said Trevor Begley, one of the founding members from Sigma Alpha Epsilon.

The Music Resource Center's outreach coordinator, Damani Harrison, explained that the MRC is a non-profit youth risk prevention program centered around music. The organization works to teach the youth of Charlottesville the fundamentals of music while also equipping them with life skills for the future through various mentoring programs.

When asked how the MRC funds all of its projects, Harrison laughed and replied, "panhandling."

On a more serious note, Harrison continued to explain that since membership only costs $10 a year, the organization relies heavily on grants, private donations, city-funding and fundraisers. With ticket sales for Saturday expected to be around 1,500, the brothers of Sigma Phi Epsilon, Sigma Chi and Sigma Alpha Epsilon hope to make a serious contribution to the organization.

Founded in 1995, with the help of the Dave Matthews Band, the MRC has come a long way from its original one-room recording studio in downtown Charlottesville. Today with a state-of-the-art facility that includes a full recording studio, a dance and video performance space and a full rehearsal space, teenagers have the opportunity to learn skills such as audio engineering, music production or playing various instruments.

"We provide an afterschool safe haven for kids," Harrison said.

The Music Resource Center works to keep at-risk youth off the streets and channel their energy into creativity.

The organization has a membership base of over 700 teenagers, 200 of which are a part of their many outreach programs where, Harrison said, they "go out to kids who can't make it to us."

In the past they have worked with teenagers who have attention deficiet disorder, autism, brain injuries and severe burn injuries through musical physical therapy, a process of working with youngsters by using music as a medium for communication.

"The Music Resource Center has become a launchpad for contemporary music education centered around at-risk youth," Harrison said.

Success with the MRC in Charlottesville has inspired the founding of a sister MRC in Cincinnati, a very similar organization based on the same principles. The Tri Sig brothers are enthusiastic about helping the MRC and encourage people to be a part of the MRC's success because they believe it is a chance to bring a deserving cause into the limelight.

"The Music Resource Center was so pumped when we told them about this event," Begley said. "They don't get many opportunities like this."