Inspired by a stomach-churning sight during a volunteer trip to Nepal, 20-year-old Montreal native Josh Broadman began a heartfelt mission to raise awareness for the underprivileged.
After building a lasting relationship with a local restaurant in Nepal, Tea Time, Broadman decided to take his efforts to the next level by creating a not-for-profit charitable foundation called Tea Time for the Homeless.
“One night when I passed four young boys sleeping on the street, looking completely beaten and as if they hadn’t eaten a proper meal in days, I bought them food and water, and walked away yearning to do more. Not just for them, but for others too,” writes Broadman on the foundation’s website.
On April 5, Broadman and his organization will seek to raise money and awareness for underprivileged people in Nepal by hosting their first music night, a lively and enjoyable evening with live performances.
“We’re always looking to make events. Being an avid music fan and musician, I thought the idea to finally hold a show of my own, a coffee house show, would be a great event where people can bring their friends to enjoy their peers, and to support a great cause,” said Broadman about the event.
The event will be held at Karina Club on Crescent St. in Montreal’s downtown core, beginning at 7:30 p.m.. The night will showcase 14 young up-and-coming performers from all over the city.
“Because of the performers, I anticipate that the crowd will be young, energetic and supportive, the type of crowd I wanted to attract for the evening. I wanted to get the younger college generation, my peers, to be more involved and support an important cause,” said Broadman.
Attendees can expect to hear a variety of genres, sounds and original scores from local musicians, singers, and rappers like Sara Diamond, Nick Frai, Yo-Yoshi!, Renata Masucci, General Mills, Jess TG, and Rebecca Shemie.
The event itself will be MC’ed by rap performer and Concordia University student, Nick Frai, who is eager and passionate, and looks forward to his debut in front a hometown audience.
“I hope to bring a lot of energy. It’s a comfortable setting for me, I work as an MC and I love to be in front of a crowd, so I hope I could bring that energy that I have on stage and bring it into my performance, hopefully I could do a great job,” said Frai.
Frai will be performing a three-song set featuring two original tracks from his soon-to-be-released mix tape entitled NICKSTAPE.
“If I’m not with friends or at school, I’ll constantly be rapping and coming up with lyrics in my head. I’ve been rapping since I was about 10 years old, and recently I’ve been doing it a lot,” said Frai.
Diamond, who has performed in several charity events similar to Tea Time for the Homeless, is excited to cater to a more mellow crowd.
“It’s an acoustic vibe, and it’s a homey vibe for me. That kind of setting makes me comfortable to perform in, you could experiment with different tones,” said Diamond who will also be performing a three-song set.
The performers are eager to display their talent for an important cause and hope to create an atmosphere where people can sit back and enjoy a fun show.
Tickets for the event are $15, with most of the proceeds going towards the Namaste Children’s Foundation, an organization partnering with Tea Time for the Homeless.
The funds collected will be going towards projects such as scholarship programs, women development programs, and orphanages.
“The rest of the money will go towards our next project, where we hope to build a school; we currently have a correspondent in Nepal who is doing ongoing research for us,” Broadman added.
For more information on how to donate or how to purchase tickets for the event, visit www.teatimeforthehomeless.com/, or www.facebook.com/TeaTimeForTheHomeless/info
