The Nonessentials story

First and foremost, I would like to extend my deepest thanks to everyone who has helped put this project of 8 months in the making together. If you are someone who has tuned in and/or donated, thank you so very much for supporting the arts and the local brewing industry during this unprecedented time.

In March of 2020 I, being a full time musician suddenly found myself out of work along with many of my friends and business partners in the entertainment, service, and brewing industries due to shelter in place orders issued for the COVID19 pandemic. Like many in my field, I made a pivot to providing live streaming music services. Within a couple of weeks of the shutdown, I was fortunate enough to be offered the opportunity to perform at Whiskey Hill Brewing in Westmont for a series of weekly streams aimed at raising money for a variety of charities. Together with Whiskey Hill, I and my musical partner David Bovyn raised over $2500 in donations. The positive reception and generosity I witnessed during these streams inspired the idea of creating a charity concert event that involved more than just my music, and that could be presented as more than just a one-time event that vanishes in the aether of the internet after it is broadcast.

Enter: The Nonessentials. I had the idea: “What if I took some of my close professional musician friends and we shot a socially distant video of us performing a song together to raise money for a charity?”. Soon the idea of doing one video turned into: “What if we made an entire charity drive show with multiple music segments and a host (ala your favorite PBS telethon concert broadcast)?”. So, teaming up with 5 other local musicians, I formed the musical supergroup The Nonessentials. Since all of the musicians met through playing at breweries, and many of our close friends work in the industry, helping out those who have been helping us with our musical careers seemed like a perfect fit. After some deliberation, it seemed the best way to make the most impact across the industry was to reach out and partner up with the Illinois Craft Brewers Guild.

With the help of multiple local media artists, and the unyielding support of the great people at Skeleton Key Brewing in Woodridge, we were able to put together this amazing presentation for your enjoyment.

UPDATE 10/21:

After the devastating Woodridge tornado in June 2021 destroyed multiple homes and businesses, including their home base of Skeleton Key Brewing, the Nonessentials sprung into action to collaborate on multiple fundraising events, helping raise thousands of dollars for both the Skeleton Key rebuild and the Woodridge Rotary Club, who was in charge of receiving donations for those displaced and or otherwise effected by the tornado.

We are now focusing on raising money for a Joliet-based organization that focuses on survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault, among many other issues.