Philly Music Fest, a “homegrown festival curated by lifelong Philadelphian, Greg Seltzer,” has established a micro-grant initiative to help the musicians and venues affected by the coronavirus. (Quote via press release.)

“PMF has raised some money and will be deploying some of our own funds to support local musicians and the staff of independent venues in the form of micro-grants,” read the festival’s announcement post on Instagram.

“Like PMF generally, we’re gonna have to keep this a bit DIY – no online “form” to complete and no “portal” to submit. Just email [email protected] or DM via IG and tell us where you’re from (must be the Philly-area), what you were doing before the shutdown, your current struggle/situation and how $250 would assist you immediately,” continued the post. See the entire post below.

“The critical aspect is to act quickly to get cash to musicians and venue staff,” said Greg Seltzer told Jambands.com. “As a small non-profit that supports musicians and independent venues in Philly, we have been able to immediately raise and deploy funds via Venmo and PayPal. We have deployed over 50 grants of $250 in the past week and have another 100 in the queue.”

“Large corporations will figure out ways to help musicians and staff, but I couldn’t sit and wait for that – folks are out of work and need money for rent and food,” Seltzer continued. “Philly Music Fest needed to activate.”

The Philly Music Fest will take place from Sept. 23 through 26 at World Cafe Live, Johnny Brenda’s and Milkboy. “The non-profit festival has sold out the last two years and will announce the 2020 lineup on June 1,” said Seltzer. “Donations can be made at phlmusicfest.com and follow at @PHLMusicFest on IG.”

For more information, visit phlmusicfest.com.

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Not quite sure how to roll this out, but we’ll just keep it direct. PMF has raised some money and will be deploying some of our own funds to support local musicians and the staff of independent venues in the form of micro-grants. Like PMF generally, we’re gonna have to keep this a bit DIY – no online “form” to complete and no “portal” to submit. Just email [email protected] or DM via IG and tell us where you’re from (must be the Philly-area), what you were doing before the shutdown, your current struggle/situation and how $250 would assist you immediately. We have a ridiculously killer lineup booked for PMF20 in late-September, but we’re gonna hold the announcement for a bit, as it doesn’t seem right at the moment. Please spread the word and PMF will do our best to keep up and raise more money for deployment. This micro-grant program is meant for local musicians that rely on working two (or more) jobs that include playing shows to support themselves and their family, but don’t forget the staff of local independent venues – these folks are just as much in need and PMF will be supporting both equally.

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