The fourth and final UnNaugural Concert benefit series organized by state Sen. Cheryl C. Kagan (D-Montgomery) is set to take place on Jan. 18 on the Montgomery College campus in Rockville.
Kagan founded the event in 2017 as a response to the inauguration of President Trump.
“The same evening that Trump supporters were going to an inaugural ball we had … activists enjoying an UnNaugural concert,” she said in an interview.
Each event she has hosted benefits five different civic organizations representing causes that Kagan says are threatened by the Trump administration. The first iteration of the folk music concert series netted over $50,000, which was donated to organizations representing civil, women’s and LGBTQ+ rights, climate change and gun control, like Planned Parenthood, the League of Conservation Voters and the ACLU, among others.
“People are trying to figure out how they can best make a difference, and this is one way,” said Kagan.
This year’s profits will benefit Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the Death with Dignity National Center, Montgomery Coalition for Adult English Literacy, the VisArts VisAbility Art Lab and the Conflict Resolution Center of Montgomery County. Featured musical artists for the 2020 concert include Tom Chapin, David Roth, Crys Matthews, Rod MacDonald and Cynthia Kaplan.
Kagan said that this is the last year the event will be held because she hopes that the president will be unseated in the November election. “I think the American people are ready for a more thoughtful and measured and inclusive leader for our country,” she said.
Kagan has yet to endorse any candidate.
Hannah Gaskill
Reporter
Hannah Gaskill was a reporter for Maryland Matters. She left the publication in May 2022. Gaskill received her master’s of journalism degree in December 2019 from the University of Maryland. She previously worked on the print layout design team at The Diamondback, reported on criminal justice in Maryland for Capital News Service and served as a production assistant for The Confluence — the daily news magazine on 90.5 WESA, Pittsburgh’s NPR member station. Gaskill has had bylines in The Baltimore Sun, The Washington Post and The Chicago Tribune, among other publications. Before pursuing journalism, she received her bachelor’s of fine art degree from Carnegie Mellon University in 2016. She grew up in Ocean City.
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