BGSU students and community members got together to support local music and a good cause.
On April 11 from 5 to 9 p.m. in the Bowen-Thompson Student Union Ballroom, live music could be heard as students and bands were raising money for Black Swamp Conservancy (BSC).
“We put on Bloomfest to raise money for Black Swamp Conservancy and to promote local acts around BG and the Midwest,” Music Industry Club (MIC) President Brynn Drabek said. “BSC does a ton of important work for preserving our natural ecosystems in the Lake Erie Basin area. For MIC, it gives our members experience in event planning, artist hospitality and other facets of the local music industry.”
With around 200 people in attendance throughout the night, the event raised over $100 for BSC.
“We raised about $175 for Black Swamp Conservancy. This came from raffle and sticker sales and donations,” Drabek said.
Around since 1993, the BSC has protected around 23,000 acres of land through conservation and restoration.
“We buy property, we create nature preserves, we do a lot of wetland and stream restoration that benefit Lake Erie and wildlife populations. Then we also work with private landowners to protect their land through permanent conservation agreements,” said Executive Director of Black Swamp Conservancy Rob Krain.
To help raise money, local bands played at the event, including The Heartthrobs.
“Especially now, young people are looking for community more than ever. I think that comes with music and shows like this. It gives people a reason to come together, not only that, but with Bloomfest, having all of these BGSU and outside organizations being there to show what locally is going on,” said Lead Vocalist and Rythm Guitarist Tatum Hartford, lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist for The Heartthrobs.
The Heartthrobs are made up of Hartford, guitarist Nathan Vogt, bass guitarist Makenzie Duncan and drummer Sam Batty. Together they play ‘femo’ music.
“We made up a genre and it’s femo, so emo, but with an F in front of it because it’s feminine. But when people ask us what we sound like, it’s normally just general alternative or grunge,” Hartford said.
With several bands and hundreds of attendees, Drabek is looking to continue Bloomfest and raising money for BSC while making the event better every year.
“In the future, we hope to increase our fundraising efforts to be able to bring in even larger bands. We also hope to keep fine tuning the event—it’s been very different every year and we learn more and more as we go,” Drabek said.
