Rock the Troc benefit concert rebrands to Rock the Cause, set for May 19 at World Cafe Live
By Samantha Bambino
The Times
When rumors began swirling last month that the famed Chinatown-based venue, The Trocadero, would be closing its doors after 150 years of unforgettable live shows, local music lovers were crushed. While most took to social media, sharing favorite memories and photos of cherished concert tickets, Cole Selleck was making phone calls.
The Radio 104.5 DJ and William Tennent alum was set to host his second annual Rock the Troc event, which The Times spotlighted in January, on Saturday, May 4 at the theater. With a star-studded lineup featuring Newtown’s Shane Henderson of Valencia, Ace Enders of The Early November, singer-songwriter Joshua Chase Miller, and Keith Goodwin of Good Old War, the show’s proceeds would benefit youth music education at the nonprofit Rock to the Future.
Selleck, who heard the stunning news from an industry professional days before the public got ahold of it, at first took it with a grain of salt.
“There’s been rumors over the years that they would close. I kind of brushed it off,” he said. “I was still doing my thing, promoting the show.”
However, more people began reaching out to Selleck, none of whom were associated with The Troc.
“Usually, if you hear it from somebody who’s not involved in the venue, I would say it’s even more likely that it’s happening,” he said.
Upon getting in touch with his contact at The Troc, Selleck was told the crushing truth — the venue was closing at a to-be-determined date, and Rock the Troc needed to find a new home.
“They were very nice about it. The last thing I want to do is bash the venue because it’s not like they weren’t planning on telling me. Things were still being discussed, and I heard about it because a lot of people thought of me when they heard it,” Selleck said.
At that point, Selleck had a decision to make. Should he just cancel the show completely? Or find another way to make it happen? After receiving an unprecedented amount of support and encouragement from friends, family and all involved with Rock the Troc, Selleck went with the latter, and utilized his connections to secure the downstairs space at World Cafe Live on Sunday, May 19. Ironically, this is the same date as last year’s show, which raised $3,000 for Play on Philly.
“There’s a lot of really cool venues in the city, but you have to consider what the show is. It doesn’t have to be this huge, 1,200-person venue like The Troc,” Selleck said. “It’s such a great place to see a show. I think it fits the vibe of a benefit show really well, especially on a Sunday. With it being on a Sunday night and being that it starts early, people can make a night out of it. They can do dinner and drinks and everything like that.”
According to Selleck, May is a challenging time to find a venue that’s not already booked, so he’s grateful to World Cafe Live for helping him make the show go on with such little notice. Of course, because of the location change, The Troc will no longer be rocked, and therefore the concert required a fresh name. Though Selleck brainstormed a few alternatives associated with the new venue, he decided on something more general — Rock the Cause.
“I was like, all right let’s not do that again. If we do this next year, which I’d still love to be able to continue the legacy of the show, it’d be nice to have it not attached to a certain place, this way it’s free to move around wherever,” he said. “You’re only changing one word, so it still triggers most of the same thought of the old show. This time around, it’s the ‘cause’ instead of any sort of venue. And that’s what we’re doing. We’re rocking the cause of music education.”
In addition to the venue and name change, the lineup of Rock the Cause is slightly different — Goodwin is no longer able to perform. Selleck said the artist landed a major paying gig in California for the majority of May.
“That was an unrelated thing. Interestingly enough, it all kind of fell into my lap the same week, so it just made the heart attack that much stronger,” Selleck said. “But I understand those things happen, especially when you’re dealing with people of a national touring level who solely make their money based upon making music. He has a family, he has kids. I was super bummed to not have him as part of the show this year, but how could you fault him or get angry at somebody when they’re getting an opportunity like that?”
Still, the rest of the performers, including Hurry and the newly-added June Divided, which played 2018’s Rock the Troc, are still on board.
“So that’s where we’re at now. We’re just pushing on and are really grateful that within a week’s time, I was able to secure a new venue, change the name, and make sure that most of the artists are able to still play,” Selleck said.
For anyone who purchased tickets and is unable to attend the new date, Selleck is offering two options for a limited time — people can either receive a full refund, no questions asked, or allow the money to be used as a donation to Rock to the Future.
“None of this is under our control, we’re not doing anything devious. We’re not like Fyre Festival where we’re taking people’s money and not doing the real show,” Selleck said. “Everybody’s really bummed about what’s going on with The Troc. Even beyond the show, the fact that this historic, very iconic venue is going to be closing, it’s very sad. They were the reason the show even happened in the first place. They opened the door to it being just an idea to a real thing.” ••
If you go…
Rock the Cause will take place Sunday, May 19 at World Cafe Live, 3025 Walnut St., Philadelphia. Doors open at 6 p.m., with the show beginning at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are available at worldcafelive.com/event/1837394-rock-cause-philly-benefit-philadelphia. Proceeds will benefit Rock to the Future. Visit rocktothefuture.org for more information.
Samantha Bambino can be reached at [email protected]
