Give a Beat Returns to Detroit: A Recap of Movement Festival 2023
Detroit legends Mark Pruitt and Bruce Bailey supporting Give a Beat at the Housecats Appreciation Party
Movement Festival has always held a special place in Give a Beat’s heart. It was the first festival where we planted our roots, and it’s the birthplace of techno. This year, we were thrilled to return to Detroit to reconnect with our community and share the incredible growth Give a Beat has experienced since our last visit.
Our goals for this year’s festival were simple: inspire and engage new industry leaders and music fans, gather data from the community to use in our strategic plan, promote the new Give a Beat record label, and distribute merchandise. We accomplished all these goals and so much more.
Give a Beat’s Executive Director, Lauren with Give a Beat Volunteers at our Prelude Happy Hour
On Friday, May 26th, we hosted a special invite-only happy hour at PRELUDE 10th Anniversary Party presented by Infiltr8:Celebr8 & [something clever] at Northern Lights Lounge. It was a fun and engaging evening that allowed us to connect with members of our community on a deeper level. We collected over 50 surveys that will help guide our advocacy efforts moving forward!
“Give a Beat’s Supporting Artist” Eli from Soul Clap
On Saturday May 27th, we had a presence at the Soul Clap VIP Pop-Up at the Movement Festival on from 6-9PM. We had an incredible turnout for this event as well with people stopping by throughout the evening to check out our new record label.
Give a Beat and Soul Clap’s merch table at House of Efunk
Later that night, we set up an information and merchandise booth with Soul Clap at TV Lounge for House of EFunk. Our friend Eli, a longstanding “Give a Beat Supporting Artist,” has been promoting our campaigns for years. He collaborated with us on the album “Insides Outed” by WayOfLife (AKA Russell Wardlow), and used his platform to raise awareness for Give a Beat. At the event, we sold merchandise and shared Give a Beat swag bags while promoting Russell Wardlow’s “Insides Outed” project.
Soul Clap Records and Give a Beat proudly co-produced the launch of “Insides Outed,” a nine-track album recorded entirely by WayOfLife from solitary confinement in Nebraska State Penitentiary. The album fuses thought-provoking poetry from Russell, embodying the constraints faced by system-impacted individuals. Witnessing such high engagement in our cause was incredibly gratifying.
geriFree and Stacey Hotwaxx Hale + Hazmat Live presents “Pure Joy” Remix
The highlight of our weekend was undoubtedly the promotion of Stacey Hotwaxx Hale remix of geriFree’s track “Pure Joy” on our new record label. Stacey is another "Give a Beat Supporting Artist" that has been in our corner for years! She dedicated her Housecats Appreciation Party to support Give a Beat and bring attention to the upcoming remix. This absolute standout is the leading single off our upcoming EP, set to drop in Summer 2023. So mark your calendars for Summer 2023 and get ready to dance the night away with Give a Beat Records and geriFree ft. Stacey “Hotwaxx” Hale & Hazmat Live – it’s a match made in heaven!
Overall, it was an incredible weekend. We reconnected with old friends and made new ones, collected valuable data to use in our strategic plan, promoted our new record label, and sold merchandise. But most importantly, we were inspired by the passion and energy of everyone we met.
We would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to Stacey Hotwaxx Hale and Eli for their unwavering support and deep connection to the larger mission of activating the community and empowering other artists. Your dedication to social justice, music, and healing has been an inspiration to all of us. Through your contributions, we have witnessed the transformative power of art and community in creating positive change. We are honored to have you as part of our journey and look forward to continued collaboration in the future. Thank you for believing in Give a Beat’s vision and for being champions of justice and creativity. Together, we can make a difference.
Thank you to everyone who came out to support Give a Beat at Movement Festival 2023. We encourage everyone to take our survey bit.ly/GABSurvey so that we can continue to better serve the community in music, justice, and healing.
