web1_gaslight2_faa-1-.jpg

Gaslight’s ‘Playroom’ series ventures into master bedroom

Babysitter charged with abandoning toddler in Wilkes-Barre apartment

<p>ATHENS &#8212; Ryan Bronson of Waverly, New York, had seen enough.</p><p>Bronson, a touring hip-hop artist who is active in his local music scene, decided he wanted to do something positive for his community after news of a drug overdose in the area spurred him into action. He teamed up with a few like-minded individuals&#8212;musicians Kyle Farr and Tim Worden, along with Eric and Bethany Booher any &#8212;to found DreamFest, an all-day music festival to raise money for drug and alcohol awareness and school arts programs.</p><p>Worden and the Booher&#8217;s are from Athens and Farr and Bronson aren&#8217;t very far from there, so Athens made sense when the group was searching for a venue. Bronson said they still had trouble finding a host, though.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s (in) an open field behind the Rustic Grotto, which is a bar, and honestly it was the only place that would let us have (the festival),&#8221; Bronson said. &#8220;We tried to have it in other places and they shot us down even though it was a good cause.&#8221;</p><p>DreamFest actually supports two good causes. The founders were split between what they wanted to contribute money to, so 45 precent of the money made at DreamFest goes to drug and alcohol awareness, while 35 percent goes to local school music and arts programs. The rest of the money made goes to the cost of operation.</p><p>Bronson said they didn&#8217;t have a lot of art-focused programs in his area when he was growing up and he&#8217;d like to help the talented young people there find positive ways to express themselves. DreamFest&#8217;s headliner this year, West Virginia rapper Huey Mack, got his start as a talented young person expressing himself.</p><p>&#8220;It was always something I wanted to do but when I was in high school I was playing sports, all that stuff, so I would just make little songs with my Sony VAIO computer,&#8221; Mack said. &#8220;Then I saved up for studio time when I was 17 and I just started doing it for real. At first I was just putting songs up and I guess word of mouth kind of traveled and before I knew it I was getting blog traction and developing a fan base.&#8221;</p><p>Mack&#8217;s new album, &#8220;Things Change,&#8221; is about his move from Morgantown, West Virginia to Los Angeles. The rapper tries to keep his writing personal and honest so it&#8217;s relatable to his audience. That may be why he has taken an interest in DreamFest&#8212;because it&#8217;s relatable to him.</p><p>&#8220;I got an email about it from my agent and I really liked it so I decided to take it on,&#8221; Mack said. &#8220;It is very important because my father&#8212;I didn&#8217;t really know him growing up<strong>.</strong> He was a very big alcoholic and pill addict so I grew up kind of around that. It definitely hit home with me so I&#8217;m glad that we can do something that helps out.&#8221;</p><p>Mack, along with current tour mates Cam Meekins and Futuristic, round out a DreamFest lineup that features various acts covering multiple genres spread over 12 hours of music. Some DreamFest co-founders will even find time to perform&#8212;Farr will join his band The Gentlemen on stage, while Bronson and his DJ Tyler Walker will perform a set.</p><p>DreamFest was named after the inspiration that helps turn dreams into reality. Bronson and the other co-founders of DreamFest took action to inspire change and on Aug. 1 they&#8217;ll raise more money to help change more lives. More drug and alcohol awareness programs. More arts programs for young people. More positive changes. More dreams fulfilled.</p><style>
.neFileBlock {
	margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
	margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
	border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
	padding-bottom: 5px;
	padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
	font-size: 85%;
}
</style>
<div class='neFileBlock'>
<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/web1_HueyMackPhoto3.jpeg">
<div class="neCaption">Morgantown, West Virginia rapper Huey Mack will headline DreamFest 2015, an event that will benefit music programs in schools around the Anthens, Pennsylvania area, along with drug and alcohol awareness. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/web1_HueyMackPhoto3.jpeg</photo0><caption0>Morgantown, West Virginia rapper Huey Mack will headline DreamFest 2015, an event that will benefit music programs in schools around the Anthens, Pennsylvania area, along with drug and alcohol awareness. </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/web1_HueyMackPhoto4.jpeg">
<div class="neCaption">Morgantown, West Virginia rapper Huey Mack will headline DreamFest 2015, an event that will benefit music programs in schools around the Anthens, Pennsylvania area, along with drug and alcohol awareness. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/web1_HueyMackPhoto4.jpeg</photo1><caption1>Morgantown, West Virginia rapper Huey Mack will headline DreamFest 2015, an event that will benefit music programs in schools around the Anthens, Pennsylvania area, along with drug and alcohol awareness. </caption1><photoCredit1></photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/web1_dreamfest-flyer.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">The DreamFest 2015 lineup features multiple national touring acts, including Huey Mack and Cam Meekins </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/web1_dreamfest-flyer.jpg</photo2><caption2>The DreamFest 2015 lineup features multiple national touring acts, including Huey Mack and Cam Meekins </caption2><photoCredit2></photoCredit2></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Gene Axton</p><p>gaxton@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p>IF YOU GO:</p><p>When: Saturday, August 1 from 10 a.m. until 10 p.m.</p><p>Where: The Rustic Grotto, 579 PA 199, Athens, PA, 18810.</p><p>How Much: Tickets are $13 in advance and $15 at the gate. They can be purchased in advance by visiting the DreamFest Facebook page.</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Gene Axton at 570-704-3943 or on Twitter @TLArts</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Athens PA music festival raises money for drug awareness, arts programs