Owen D. Young Library (ODY) is hosting its first-ever benefit concert for Literacy for Nepal featuring the SLUxClarkson professors’ band named Bee Children on Saturday, Feb. 1st. Literacy for Nepal co-founder, Brijlal Chaudhari, ‘10, will return to campus for the event. 

This event aims to raise money for the nonprofit organization and to refresh ODY’s image on campus as a social space. 

Lori Locke, Public Services Assistance from ODY, expressed her enthusiasm for the concert since it is the first time the library staff will host a concert. “We hope for a large turn out as it will be a fun time.”

The Bee Children themselves talked about the upcoming event with enthusiasm. “Here is a band of professors, what better place to play than a library?” Sarah Gates, SLU English Professor/Bee Children’s member suggested amusingly. 

She went on and said, “In terms of having a concert in a library, Literacy for Nepal seems to be the best student organization to start a series of benefit concerts in the library.” 

Both SLU Production Manager/Band member Terry DuBray and Clarkson professor/Band member Shane Rogers agreed with Gates’ idea. DuBray said that their goal for this upcoming concert is to do a little good in the world and to shine lights on the nonprofit organizations out there. 

As for Rogers, he suggested that the band members are all socially conscious and are interested in putting good back in the world. “We are all professors, so we do not live off of music,” Rogers said.  

“We mainly focus on how we can use music as a form to bring something into the community, both locally and globally, and touch people’s lives.”

The Bee Children will perform the songs from their recent album Gather the Exile along with other songs. John Collins, SLU Sociology Professor/Band member also talked about the meaning behind the album’s name. 

“The phrase encapsulated the idea of the album the band” and he added that it “reflects the world in which we are in.”

Furthermore, Rogers suggested that Gather the Exile is a more collaborative album on a music front. “Some of the songs in the past came forward from things that we’ve done individually,” he said. 

“Gather the Exile, on the other hand, was organic mixes where we were sitting around together playing music.” 

Roger also said that the band will play some new songs that they hope will release in summer 2020. 

While they have been playing music together for six years, the band expresses the struggles that they face being professors and being a band member.

“It is really hard to figure out a schedule that will get all four of us in the same place,” said Gates. However, they enjoy each other’s company, doing music or doing things outside of our music. 

The concert will be on Feb. 1 at 8 p.m. in the ODY library. The band expects the audience to sing along, but to first come and join them for a good cause.