Make The World Better marries Philly’s two greatest loves—sports and music—for a good cause
Former Philadelphia Eagle Connor Barwin said the annual concert series brings music lovers and sports fans together to raise money for rehab work at Philly parks and rec centers.
Connor Barwin | photo by Lisa Schaffer for WXPN
This weekend, The Dell Music Center in Fairmount Park is hosting two consecutive nights of music that will help support rehabilitation work at recreation centers, parks, and playgrounds in Philadelphia.
Pavement is headlining Friday with Ratboys, and Philly’s own Kurt Vile, along with local shoegaze outfit They Are Gutting A Body Of Water and country-punk band Twisted Teens, will headline Saturday for the Make The World Better Concert Weekend.
Funds from the two-night event will benefit the Make The World Better Foundation, launched in 2013 by former Philadelphia Eagles defensive end and outside linebacker Connor Barwin.
”I think there’s such an opportunity to bring people together with music the way we do with sports,” Barwin told WXPN. “Since 2013, this has been a way to sort of marry two of the greatest things about Philadelphia—the sports culture and the music culture—and bring them together to do something good for Philly with this annual benefit concert.”
Past concerts featured The War on Drugs, Waxahatchee, Japanese Breakfast, Hop Along, Marian Hill, Alex G, and more.
Make The World Better Executive Director Jesse Rendell loves bringing together the two worlds for good. An avid sports fan, who admittedly lets the outcome of games affect his mood, played bass in the pop-punk band Don’t Look Down and played the Warped Tour circuit with bands like Fall Out Boy
The band toured for a few years, but Rendell—son of former Philadelphia Mayor and Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell—said he always had civic duty on his mind.
“ I just feel like [Make The World Better] was meant for me just because of all the angles,” he said. “It’s really like a family thing, and it’s been exciting to be a part of the team.”
Some may wonder how a former Eagles player became such a champion of indie rock music, and local music especially.
When he was drafted to the Houston Texans in 2009, Barwin looked to fill his downtime and happened upon the now-closed and iconic Fitzgerald’s.
”I just started going to shows all the time. And that’s when I really fell in love with sort of that indie rock sort of stuff that XPN plays,” he said.
When he joined the Eagles in 2013, he got hooked on shows at Union Transfer.
“That’s when I met Sean Agnew of R5 Productions, and that’s really how it all started.” R5 produces Make The World Better’s concerts.
Barwin and Vile are no strangers; the two teamed up with Vile’s brother Paul “Jello Man” Vile for a zany ad for Vile’s 2016 New Year’s Eve show after Vile played the inaugural MTWB benefit. But They Are Gutting A Body Of Water (TAGABOW for short) is a bit denser than Vile’s laid-back tunes.
Rendell and Barwin were turned on to TAGABOW after they sold out three consecutive nights at First Unitarian Church in December.
”I think everybody here locally thought [those shows were] really good,” Barwin said. “And then Sean and R5 said they would be great to put in this show as an up-and-coming local band to support Kurt.”
Saturday’s show will most likely be the biggest gig TAGABOW has played yet.
And giving a new band a big opportunity is in line with the ethos of Make The World Better.
To date, the foundation has completed revitalization projects at Ralph Brooks Park, Smith Playground, Waterloo Playground, and Vare Rec Center.
“ In total, it’s been over $30 million invested in public spaces here in the city,” Barwin said.
The group is working on Hark Park in Kensington and plans to announce its next project this weekend.
“The concert is really, really important to what we do,” he said. “And it’s also important to allow people a fun way to support the city, right? You buying a ticket is really making Philly a better place and giving more kids access to safe playgrounds.”
Ticket proceeds go to the foundation, but concession sales in the Dell go to the city, as it’s owned by the city itself.
And, they’re hosting pre-show ticketed tailgate parties starting at 4 p.m. each night. Tailgaters can enjoy food from Liberty Kitchen and Blazerz, drinks from Super Lyte, Human Robot, and Reanimator Coffee, while watching live interviews with members of the bands and other guests. Tailgate proceeds will go directly to Make The World Better.
“It’s really something for people who want to come early and hang out as an additional way to support the organization,” Rendell said. ”So if you’re going to the show, you definitely want to come to the tailgate, no doubt about it.”
“It’s the most Philly thing for all of us here in Philly to sort of put this together to try to do something good for Philly,” Barwin said.