Chance the Rapper Announces Annual Award Show Recognizing Pillars of Leadership Around Chicago Schools
Within a couple of days off announcing a $2.2 million donation to 20 schools throughout the Chicago public school district (this might sound very familiar to you), Chance the Rapper announced yet another square on his humanitarian quilt. Chance has spent the last several years becoming a bastion of the Chicago-area arts and education, continuously finding fresh ways to augment schools around the city through his SocialWorks non-profit. Back in March we reported on his $1 million donation to the district after receiving a lot of “vague answers” to questions concerning education funding, and just yesterday we talked about his latest donation.
Now, we’re talking about yesterday’s big announcement: The Twilight Awards, an annual awards show to recognize “teachers, parents, principals, and students that convey leadership,” in Chicago-area schools. The show won’t be a small affair either, as Chance has promised a fleet of incredible guest performances and will be hosted by CBS late-night host James Corden.
Old Settler’s Legacy Vs. Drfitwood Music Fest Convenience
Last month, we discussed the sudden, premature upheaval of Old Settler’s Music Fest from the Salt Lick Pavilion grounds to their new space. As of yesterday, that story has gone from fairly standard festival news to juicy Austin music chisme.
The news came out yesterday that former Old Settler’s president Scott Marshall and production manager Ryan Brittain are organizing the Driftwood Music Festival, a competing event, touting the identical sound of Old Settler’s, even going as far as to call itself a continuation of the Old Settler’s experience on their website, and taking place on the exact same weekend. Despite the overwhelming similarities, one big difference between the festivals is that while Old Settler’s is a “not-for-profit” festival, the new Driftwood Music Festival is a “for-profit” operation. The Executive Director of Old Settler’s Jean Spivey said she learned about the new festival from current volunteers who had been contacted by Driftwood Music Festival for potential help.
Spivey received word in mid-August that the festival would have to relocate a year early, but domainmonger.com reveals the domain name for the Driftwood Music Fest was purchased on July 27th, further muddying the waters, as Marshall remains under contract with Old Settler’s until April of 2018. And now, the two festivals begin to compete for lineups and ticket sales.
On the part of the artists, in a statement from Shinyribs frontman Kevin Russell, AKA the longtime-signature act of Old Settler’s said he doesn’t like the position a lot of artists and audiences will inevitably be put in, noting that making a point to hold the two festivals at different times of the year, “creates more work for the artists and the employees.”
-Taylor Wallace
