Davis Square bar’s Mardi Gras concert will benefit local homeless coalition

Photo: Sweet Wednesday

It will be a sweet Sunday when the band Sweet Wednesday takes the stage on Sunday, February 26 to perform in a Mardi Gras-style concert to benefit the Somerville Homeless Coalition at the Burren.

Donations collected at the free event, which will take place from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., will go to the Homeless Coalition, located just minutes away from the Burren in Davis Square.

Somerville Homeless Coalition Director of Development Kathryn Benjamin said it is common for neighboring businesses such as the Burren to offer up their spaces or services to support the Coalition’s cause.

“About three years ago the Burren contacted us and said they wanted to do something to benefit our work,” Benjamin said, “and with the homeless population being quite visible in Davis Square we are fortunate enough to have neighboring businesses that are willing to help us out and places like the Burren have a great venue where lots of visitors come all the time.”

The Burren throughout the year makes it a point to fundraise for the Somerville Homeless Coalition, according to Benjamin.

Mark Alston-Follansbee, executive director of the Somerville Homeless Coalition, said fundraisers like these are necessary in order to cover a portion of the organization’s yearly operating budget.

Alston-Follansbee said 30 percent of the Coalition’s budget comes from fundraising.

“These events can raise a couple of hundred to a few thousand … we gladly accept any help we can get,” he said.

The concert will take place in the backroom of the Burren and will be open to all ages.

Those performing in the band are well known in the community, Alston-Follansbee said.

“A lot of these people are old friends. Yani Batteau and Reverend Busker do a lot for the community,” Alston-Follansbee said. “[The Burren] couldn’t be nicer to us … It really speaks to what a wonderful and supportive place Somerville is. We couldn’t be happier to have friends like this.”