By: John Mabery

Several months ago, I had this — at the time — far-fetched idea for my 25^th birthday, which was to host a musical festival featuring live performances by some of my favorite bands. All I had was a title: “Johnaroo,” a witty play on words that made people laugh whenever I uttered the name. “I like it, I like it,” was the oft-spoken response, followed by a commitment to help out. Apparently, the name was witty enough for people to believe in it. 

Around the same time, I was hired by the YJCC, located in Washington Township, NJ, to work at a program called BOOST! The program, which is funded by a grant from the New York Center for Autism, was designed to help young children (ages of 4-13) with autism develop social skills in order to improve their everyday lives. Needless to say, working with these children has affected me in ways I never would have thought possible, and I wanted to continue finding avenues through which I could help out more. Fortunately, the Y offers a wide array of programs for children with special needs, and through these programs, I was lucky enough to meet a lot of amazing people.  

The downside to all of this is that programs like Boost are in trouble of having their funding cut because they are expensive to run. To further this problem, the Y was also one of the many organizations affected by the greed of Bernie Madoff. Thinking about those kids and not being able to offer them the opportunity at a better life because of the selfishness of others weighed on my mind. So it was three months ago that I decided that this little idea for a festival might not be such a long shot, and that it could be a great platform to help out those kids.    

Now, I can now call this silly little dream known as “Johnaroo” a reality. “Johnaroo” will take place at 8 p.m. on January 8th, 2010, at Liberty’s Bar and Grill, located at 501 Route 303 in Tappan, NY. Liberty's will be donating 20% of its entire tab to programs at the YJCC. The festival will feature four bands from the NY/NJ area, including FiKus, Hops, NeveroddoreveN, and HMS Revenge. There is no cover charge, and it is 18 to enter and 21 to drink. We’re more or less giving away a night of tremendous free music to support a great cause. 

I have been blessed with a group of musicians who are dually committed to the cause and vastly talented. Collectively, they offer a diverse variety of sounds, from the universally-conscious hip-hop of Hops to the dancehall rhythms of FiKus, from the powerhouse blues of NeveroddoreveN to the all out rock of HMS Revenge. Rarely does the opportunity to see such an eclectic and phenomenal array of musicians for free, let alone in one place, present itself. That was my birthday present to myself, one that I wish to share with all of you.        

I hope you can join me at Liberty’s on January 8^th for a wonderful night of free music that will benefit a really amazing group of kids. For information on “Johnaroo” on Facebook, go to: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=226442874602&ref=ts