BALTIMORE — Bright colors, great music, and giving back are the themes for this year's Artscape.
Local band The Shaky Experience is bringing new meaning to the gift of music.
"We try our best to connect ourselves to our audience, and our community, as much as possible by letting people express themselves in their most creative being," said James Lane.
Lane founded The Shaky Experience in 2010, the name coming from a medical condition he's had since he was born.
"It's a mild form of Parkinson's, a tremor, you know, and basically my hands are always shaky."
He told WMAR-2 News he only notices the shakiness sometimes when he's playing guitar.
"Every once in a while, here and there, just a little bit. Like, maybe I'll miss a slight chord or a slight strum."
But he said that only contributes to their sound describing it as noise pop, a way for audiences to let loose and enjoy the present.
Local band will use performance at Artscape as a way to give back
That same music will be flowing through downtown Baltimore for this year's Artscape.
This will be the first year the band plays at the event.
And they plan to make their Artscape debut with a bang, a message behind every note they play.
With every sale of merchandise, physical and online, during the festival's weekend, the band will donate 100% of the proceeds to the BARCS animal shelter.
"Animals don't have a voice, and I want to be the voice of the voiceless. I want animals to be heard. They're in cages, they're literally in cages. This is obviously me and then that's my drummer right there and we're just kind of two cool guys and why wouldn't you want to rep some cool guys on your shirt," Lane said describing one of the t-shirts being sold.
He said he isn't new to giving back as he led a nonprofit called the Baltimore Bnote for years.
"I think that if you're in a position of power, if you are a person who has a ton of Instagram followers or have a reach of people out there, then you should take that platform and utilize it for good."
He invites anyone to come out, listen to them play, and give back for a good cause.
"People's lives aren't perfect, our music isn't perfect, so therefore that's the shaky experience."
The Shaky Experience will hit the stage at Artscape May 24th at 11 AM.
