The organizers of the event knew the name would turn heads.
“This Scene Kills Fascism” caused several event venues to request a different moniker, but Ninja Jam Records’ Nicholas Johnson said that wasn’t going to happen.
The Woodward Theater in Over-the-Rhine ended up being the venue for the night of protest music in late April inspired by the music and art of Woody Guthrie.
“It’s a nod to Woody Guthrie and the famous picture where he had ‘This Machine Kills Fascists’ written on his guitar,” Johnson said. “It’s not violent. It’s evocative. It’s meant to pay homage to the rich tradition of dissent through folk protest.”
Proceeds from the night – which included visual artists, vendors and nonprofits, along with music – went to the Freestore Foodbank.
Local musician Tyler Carson, from the band St. Mary, St. Michael, and local promoter Jared Bowers also helped organize the event.
“We know the title is provocative, but that’s the point,” Carson said. “We wanted people to know immediately where we stood as a community.”
The idea stemmed from a No Kings Protest Carson went to last year.
“I had this idea that we could gather songwriters and use our voices to join together,” he said. “The world likes to isolate people, but music reminds us that we aren’t alone.”
Musicians hailing from Dayton, Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky each took the stage throughout the night to perform an original composition and a cover of a famous protest song.
Performers did covers of performers like Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, John Prine, Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger and others.
One of the performers, Jacob Perez, gave his take on a popular Springsteen hit while on stage.
“Born in the USA’ is not a patriotic song,” Perez said. “If you think it is, I don’t know what to tell you; maybe learn to read.”
Another performer, John Fonner, called himself the resident boomer of the night and started by apologizing for his generation. He said the fact that songs like Born in the USA still have such a popular following is troubling.
When Georgia Evans, who goes by Midwestern Mrs., took the stage, she said that when she started playing open mics, the scene felt very male-dominated.
“But it honestly lit a bit of a fire within me,” Evans said. “A bit of a ‘If they can do it, then I can too’ kinda inspiration. I came to a point where I realized I was just as worthy of getting to experience making music as anyone else.”
Evans told the crowd that she performed gigs while she was pregnant with her daughter so that one day she could hopefully inspire her to do whatever brings her joy and magic.
Her original song was titled In America’s Name and talked about Christian Nationalism.
“We must say the truth out loud,” Evans said. “For whoever will listen. I’ve found such clarity writing and singing protest songs.”
Her favorite part about the evening was the hope.
“All of our songs were about different things but they all revolved around a central idea,” Evans said.
That idea, she said, is the hope and wish that our world can be better.
“And by singing it out loud, we all must have some hope that it could one day actually be better,” Evans said. “I’m convinced that we wouldn’t sing otherwise.”
The performances will later be available as digital compilations through Ninja Jam Records, a local Indie label that will include audio and video of the concert.
The live recording element “captures a magical moment in time,” Carson said, and he hopes that gathering people together who believe in something bigger than themselves can make even more impact.
“I think live performances allow the songwriters to connect with the audience, and that brings a new energy to the songs,” he said. “I wanted to capture that, and create a unique album that would continue to change lives.”
Along with the musical elements of the night, local visual artists will create a companion piece to go along with the original songs in the form of a ‘lyric book’ and local nonprofits and vendors set up tables at the show, sharing different avenues to become involved in the community.