It was the end of an era at Space Camp Friday night, as everyone came together to raise money for the American Foundation of Suicide Prevention and bid farewell to Syracuse’s own, The Wisconaut as they played their last show to end our night.
The Annual AFSP benefit was organized by Carolyn Saxton for the third year in a row, and unfortunately, will be the last one to hit Space Camp and the Syracuse area seeing as Carolyn will be graduating this May. I was able to sit down and chat with Carolyn the day before the show to talk about how the benefit has grown throughout the years.
“I’m very overwhelmed with the amount of support that this has continued to receive. The music community in Syracuse and otherwise has just been amazing. I’m an advocate for mental health awareness and suicide prevention and those are topics that still have a huge stigma around them so to see such a large community rally around the cause that is so important to me and a lot of people that I know is really amazing and encouraging.”
Carolyn’s passion for wanting to help raise awareness for mental illness started as early as her senior year of high school when she participated in the AFSP Out Of The Darkness Walk for the first time in Philadelphia. “Student participants have to raise at least $700, non-students have to raise at least $1,000. When I did that my senior year of high school and freshman year of college, I relied solely on social media to raise money and I reached my goal both times, but I wanted to get more creative with how I was fundraising. I wanted to spread the word to people who I wasn’t connected with on social media and wouldn’t know otherwise.”
And just like that, the AFSP Benefit for Suicide Prevention was born. “Because music was always so important to me and because I started to become involved with the music scene in Syracuse, I thought that it would be cool to put on a benefit show and use the money that I earned at the benefit show for fundraising for Out of The Darkness. I was kinda combining my two passions of music and mental health advocacy.”
Mental health is not just close to Carolyn’s heart; this benefit, and AFSP, are also close to the hearts of those who have played the benefit. SU Junior, Andrew Idarraga has been a part of the benefit since he was a freshman, playing with band Super Defense his first year and in his own band “The Wisconaut” during his sophomore and junior years.
“The first year, I only asked local bands to play and we raised $1200. Super Defense, Petite League, and Pizza Party were all student bands who played the show for free. It was the first time that I had ever booked a show on my own. The first year I also did an art show component, so I took submissions from anyone who wanted to submit their art and we booked Spark Art Space. The first room displayed the art and the second room was for the music, which was really cool.”
“The second year, we switched the venue to Space Camp with The Wisconaut opening and Queen Moo headlining, and we made a little under $800 by the end of the night. I wanted to have bands from outside of Syracuse to have a bigger draw and also diversify the type of music that I was bringing in. This was kind of the same idea this year, but I kept it mostly local because I wanted to have that Syracuse draw. Obviously the Wisconaut has a huge draw in Syracuse because everyone loves his music and loves Andrew.”
This year, the lineup included Andy John Mendosa, Cheem, Julep, and The Wisconaut as the headliner. Syracuse came out in full force to support all of these amazing artists playing on Friday night. I arrived at the venue halfway through Andy’s set, only able to catch his last two songs on acoustic guitar. The crowd dispersed as his set ended, moving the party upstairs as more people trickled into the house ready for a night of good friends and good music. By 10pm, the living room and basement were significantly packed as Cheem began their set. I was not able to make it downstairs to catch the music, but from what I heard, it was definitely something that would make anyone put on their dancing shoes.
Excitement floated through the atmosphere as old and new friends mingled, however the whole thing felt a bit bittersweet seeing as it was the last benefit show being put on by Carolyn and The Wisconaut would be retiring from playing shows for a bit after Friday night. We made our way downstairs for Julep’s set, dancing and laughing in the crowd, celebrating live music together.
I couldn’t tell you what time The Wisconaut came on, all crowded around each other in the limited space that the basement provided, fans eagerly surrounding them, ready to celebrate the end of an era together. As soon as the first chord was played, the crowd became one, moshing and colliding together to the songs that were mostly written in Andrew’s bedroom, unsure if they’d ever see daylight. I don’t think there was anyone in that room who didn’t have a smile on their face. Maybe it had something to do with how intoxicating it is to watch Andrew jump around like a mad-man that you never want to take your eyes off him, or it could be the obvious chemistry and friendship between the bandmembers, all outwardly excited to be together creating something that they love. Maybe it was the fact that despite this being the last Wisconaut show, Carolyn’s last AFSP Benefit at Space Camp, and the last time all of us would be in this room together at once, there was a magic in knowing that in that moment we were still together, celebrating all of the hard work put into this event, the love that we all have for live music, and the joy in knowing that we had an opportunity to share this space together one last time.
I asked Carolyn the day before if she saw herself doing this in the future or having someone at Syracuse carry on the legacy, and after careful consideration she said that “I think I would really like to do this in the ‘real world’, in which case it’s gonna require more from me. Booking a show in a DIY venue in a college town is a lot different than booking a club and getting bands that would have the reach to play at a venue like that. The logistics would be more effort but I think that’s something that I would like to take on because I care about the cause outside of Syracuse University so we’ll see. Here, I have more of a safety net because I know that my friends are gonna be there rather than people that I don’t know because I know that my friends support the cause, my friends support me, and they love live music so I can count on a certain turnout. But in the real world I don’t know people. I think that challenge kind of excites me because I want to see if I can do it.”
Carolyn Saxton has been a huge light in my life since I met her during my first semester at Syracuse in the fall of 2016. She has the personality that allows her to get along with everybody that she meets, and her passion for what she loves shines through in every word she speaks and project that she takes on. I am so proud of her for organizing this event and the amazing turnout that it brought. I hope to see her carry on this legacy in the future no matter where she ends up.
While most donations were made at the door for entry and throughout the night, PJ Walshe of The Wisconaut set up a venmo account for the band, raising $210. This year, the AFSP 3rd Annual Benefit show raised $1,125; the four figures that Carolyn was looking for to close out the show.
Mental illness is something that affects so many people daily, whether they are open about it or decide to keep it to themselves. As somebody who struggles with anxiety everyday, it warms my heart to see so much support within the Syracuse community and beyond when it comes to this topic. If you or anyone you know is struggling, never be afraid to reach out. I have provided links to resources down below as well as links to the musicians who played the benefit on Friday night!
National Suicide Prevention Number: 1-800-273-8255