If you’re looking to ditch the mobbed malls on Black Friday, add Psycho Killers to your list of things to be thankful for this year.
The Charm City-based Talking Heads cover band will be playing a show to benefit Toys for Tots at Baltimore Soundstage on November 28.
“I think it’s going to be a pretty unique show,” says Psycho Killers bassist Ryan Porter. “We play in Baltimore once every few months and Black Friday is a great opportunity to give people who are coming home a chance to see us.”
Toys for Tots, a national organization committed to giving holiday gifts to less-fortunate children, will be collecting unwrapped toys from audience members at the show. As an additional incentive, Baltimore Soundstage has thrown raffle tickets into the mix, giving anyone who donates toys a chance to win. Four winners will receive two tickets to any show of their choice, and one very lucky winner will be given two tickets to every show at the venue in 2015.
“The cool thing about it is it doesn’t even have to be a big donation,” Porter says. “I never realized how much even little toys mean to kids, I bring home little things for my 5-year-old all the time and he freaks out.”
In this truly collaborative effort, the band first reached out to friends at local retailer and performance art troupe Proper Playground Clothing Co., to make this special holiday show unlike any other.
Proper Playground will be on hand to transform the space with special lights and décor, and will also be featuring live performance art like stilt walkers and live painters. Artist Adrienne Price, who designed to flyers to promote the show, will also be there selling her own original artwork.
Although many different players are at work to make this night one to remember, the music itself will be at the forefront of this special event.
“We definitely have some surprises up our sleeves,” Porter says. “We like to mix it up every show and we never play the same setlist twice.”
Porter says that Psycho Killers is excited to be able to give back to the community, especially during this time of year.
“It’s just coming together to be a really special night,” he says. “We’ve done benefit shows in the past, but this is the first time we’ve come up with the idea ourselves.”
Tickets for the all-ages show are $15 and doors open at 8 p.m.