Charity Bomb and Unite The United Foundation Strange 80s WWWY Kickoff,
with headliners SUM 41, Bowling For Soup, Plain White Ts, and Your Broken Hero,
along with special guests performing songs of the 80s set
Brooklyn Bowl hosted the big charity event, on the eve of When We Were Young, and as you entered the venue there was plenty of interactive booths and vendors in the open upstairs area, as well as a lot of merch tables! Several sponsors had tables and merchandise, Beatbox Beverages were painting on beatbox tattoos, Emo’s Not Dead merch was out on display, a lot of the event sponsors ( that included LiveNation,
Vans, idobi Radio, Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Sound Talent Group, Hopeless Records, Happy 2B Alive, Epitaph Records, The Punk Rock Museum, Big Noise Music Group, Ernie Ball) repped on site, with booths with goods as well as info on the charities involved.
There was also a real bowling event taking place - this was serious business here - Unite The United Foundation Bowling Tournament was well under way as the fans rushed in for
the live show. There was a lot to take in, and a lot of VIP guests milling around - many of the artists from WWWY, along with music industry guests and press, mingled in the VIP and bowling area, but also on the main floor, taking pics and interacting with fans throughout the night.
The show started off with Emo's Not Dead's Matt Cutshall and Your Broken Hero, his alter ego band parody of the emo scene, and the set was a blast. Wearing his own E.N.D. tee, and yelling "hey, we're opening for SUM 41!" the set was fun (his wife Arielle Vandenberg joined in singing on stage), the songs emulating the EMO past, and you can check out EMO Matt's music HERE.
In between band sets, Gunz of The Gunz Show had some chosen guests on stage playing "EMO Millionaire", quizzing the contestants on their band knowledge for prizes, through the crowd yelled out the answers faster than the contestants! Plain White T's stepped up to the stage next, and created a great singalong vibe, really getting the crowd into the show, and included their massive hits "Hey There Delilah" and "Rythym of Love". Bowling for Soup really had a lot of fun, cutting up and bringing their punk energy to "High School Never Ends" and "Girl All The Bad Guys Want", way upping the pace before the main headliner of the took the stage.
SUM 41 got off to an explosive start with "Motivation", the band's super high energy and pace on the stage had the fans surfing and circles forming from the get-go. Deryck Whibley was in great form, running across the stage and belting out hits, and the fans were wild, bodies coming over the barricade and the whole place screaming along. A real high point was "In Too Deep", that had EVERYONE singing and jumping, and the band completed their set with "Still Waiting". What a fantastic time, and so great to see a band like this in a club, and get a sneak peek before their festival showing the next day. We felt spoiled and loved it!
In addition to a ton great music from the featured bands, The Strange 80s late night set was a treat that brought in Lilith Czar (Juliet Sims), Cassadee Pope, Chris DeMakes & Roger Lima (Less Than Jake), and more. The Strange 80s set had a plethora of 80's pop hits, from Madonna to Stevie Nicks to Cindi Lauper, some of the performers pulling out the stops and dressing for
the era. Most fans stuck around for the entire set, winding down before the night ended, most planning to spend the next day at the festival grounds for When We Were Young.
All proceeds from the event is split between Charity Bomb and MusiCares, Charity Bomb founder Matthew Leone shares: “Strange 80s is a one-of-a-kind fundraising event, uniting musicians & music industry vets to help children grow mental muscle in the wake of disrupted schooling, lockdowns & suspended extracurriculars.”
Charity Bomb/Unite the United WWWY Kickoff photos: Stardogphotos.com / Jo Anna Jackson
About Charity Bomb
Charity Bomb is a non-profit organization with a mission to create mentally strong communities. The organization achieves this in two ways - producing fundraising concert events to support a variety of mental health organizations that offer the most effective and impactful services to combat depression, anxiety, suicide, and addiction (Give An Hour, The Beat of Life, 320 Changes Direction), and creating EQ (emotional intelligence) educational resources for parents and children to help them grow confidence, self-awareness, and emotional resilience, while avoiding the pitfalls of depression, addiction, bullying and suicide.
About Unite The United Foundation
Unite The United Foundation is a public 501(c)(3) non-profit, fundraising organization founded by Kevin Lyman. The organization is committed to raising funds to be donated directly to grass roots organizations that are making a difference in our national community. For more information please visit: www.unitetheunited.com.
About MusiCares
MusiCares helps the humans behind music because music gives so much to the world. Offering preventive, emergency, and recovery programs, MusiCares is a safety net supporting the health and welfare of the music community. Founded by the Recording Academy in 1989 as a U.S. based, independent 501(c)(3) charity, MusiCares safeguards the well-being of all music people through direct financial grant programs, networks