While chatting with some of my coworkers today about local music, they mentioned how Changeville was happening on February 7th through the 8th, and I literally had no idea what they were talking about. They explained to me that Changeville is a music festival focused on promoting social change and helps raise money for charities in Gainesville. For this year's festival, Gainesville Girls Rock Camp and CEEAS will receive a dollar from each entry fee.
The idea of this excited me so much. I am constantly volunteering in the Gainesville community with my sorority, so this has given me a decent picture of the problems that are present in the city. Sitting there and hearing about it for the first time, I could only imagine what they might possibly discuss at the event.
The second I got home I put on my detective cap and plopped down in front of my computer. The front page of the Changeville website talks about how the festival "showcases and connects those who use music, comedy, film, virtual reality and storytelling as a vehicle to drive self-awareness and social change".
At this 2 day long festival you can listen to bands and solo artists perform a wide array of music from New Orleans hip-hop and bounce to folk-punk. There are so many diverse messages that can be heard in their music, like overall inclusivity, and many of these bands do fabulous things for their community on the side. Locos Por Juana for one has done great work with #WeDreamAmerica which is a "Twitter initiative educating and uniting our nation around its immigrant heritage". Some of the comedians that are participating at the festival have written for The Daily Show and even appeared on Hasan Minaj's Patriot Act, which is basically my favorite show on Netflix. Through their standup, these strong women are breaking stereotypes and fighting for reproductive rights.
If these messages and performance interests you, head on over to their website as their tickets page covers every event going on during the festival. The events will be taking place at 10 different venues, so make sure you know where you are going. I think that this festival truly does have the potential to live up to its mission to cultivate "connections between artists, influencers and activists", and I can only hope that more festivals like this spread across the state as well as our country.
