TCC Senior Director Max Liles (left) poses with Austin Pollard, AKA Lil Brows (right) who will be performing at the Summer Bummer 2 Concert on August 26th at the VRCFA.
Austin Pollard, AKA Lil Brows, performed at the VRCFA for a benefit concert last year.
PORTSMOUTH – The Counseling Center (TCC), in partnership with the Friends of Portsmouth, is set to host ‘Summer Bummer 2’ at the Vern Riffe Center for the Arts on Friday, August 26th. Doors open at 6PM and the event kicks off at 7PM.
The event features musical artists Lil Brows, Murphy, Chin, and Austin Awake. Tickets are just $20 and can be purchased online, at the box office, or at select TCC locations.
“Our headliner is Austin Pollard, AKA, Lil Brows,” explained organizer and Senior Director at TCC Max Liles. “Austin is a graduate of Green High School as well as a person in long term recovery. And he’s been fortunate to have had a number of hits in the music industry. Right now he’s working on his 4th album.”
Lil Brows was discovered by comedians Theo Von and Brendan Schaub on their “King and the Sting” podcast when he submitted a rap parody song to the show. They gave him the nickname which he kept as he rose through the ranks of the music industry.
“His most recent album, Thiccboy, is the soundtrack for Brendan’s brand. It’s all a very millennial,” laughed Liles.
Murphy was a contestant on Season 19 of American Idol.
“He was one of the last people that didn’t get picked up,” said Liles. “And the fan base through such a fit they brough him back to the play the finale…He’s currently recording his album in Chillicothe.”
The funds raised from the concert will benefit youth and community programs offered by TCC throughout the year.
“All of the money goes directly into our youth fund,” said Liles. “We have a full time employee at Portsmouth Elemetary and another that goes to four other districts throughout the county. They work with kids from Kindergarten through 12th grade on substance abuse prevention with evidence based curriculum.”
Liles says that recovery and treatment is a hot topic right now. But, despite that, prevention efforts are something the community should rally behind.
“Surely, we can all agree there needs to be something done for young people that positively impacts our community in the long term. I always have a lot of negativity directed at recovery and treatment. Usually, it washes right over me. Sometimes I read the comments such for entertainment. But, every now and again one lodges in my mind. When we announced the Mitchellace project, someone commented on social media and said that ‘we should do something for the kids’. And I took that personally. Since I saw that, we’ve made it a goal to have free youth events, get within school districts and work on prevention, and help out every way we can.”
“I’ll die trying to positively impact Portsmouth,” said Liles.
TCC is currently looking to expand their prevention services to more schools in our area, according to Liles.
“If you are a teacher, an administrator, or a coach and want someone to work with your kids on a regular basis let me know. My email address is [email protected]. We will work with anybody. It can be as much or as little as desired. We want to be a resource and we want to do as much as possible because we are invested in Portsmouth.”
Block tickets are also available. Purchases of 25 or more come with a promotional table set up in the entry hall at the Vern Riffe Center for the Arts.
“We would love to see a butt in every seat. We want this show sold out,” said Liles. “This is one of those things where – you may not know every artists – but their stuff is out there on every platform. Give it a listen. I love them. My 10 year old and 7 year old loves them. Its family friendly and for a good cause. If you think there’s nothing to do on a Friday night – there is. Come out and check it out and let us entertain you for three hours for a good cause.”
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