Pressing Play! Rebuild Roswell Rehearsals

Our friend and Amherst Island Radio President, Eric Tremblay, first started a GoFundMe campaign called "Let's keep Roswell Rehearsals Alive" in 2022 to try to stop our music rehearsal facility in Kingston, Ontario, Canada from closing. It was the only such facility in the area and the overwhelming message from local musicians and supporters, was that our space was important to the local creative community.

In October 2022, we had to hit pause on the GoFundMe as we unfortunately lost our location. Fast forward to October 2024 - After 2 years of searching for a suitable location, we have finally opened the doors to a new rehearsal space, which will still be unique in the area! We are starting small, with 2 rooms where musicians can practice, create, form bands, build community and so much more!

With this new space, however, we have the room to grow and evolve, to create opportunities and fill gaps in music eco-system in Kingston. We want this to be your space as much as ours. To achieve this, we need your help!

We need funds to support us through the early stages, rebuilding the space on a solid foundation. We hope to be able to create employment opportunities for tech's and creatives. To offer musicians a safe, inclusive, professional yet welcoming space to network, create, grow or (just as importantly) let loose. We will also need funds to add another 2 rooms in the early summer of 2025, creating more access and helping ensure we can continue into the future.

The last campaign was to raise $80K. We managed to raise $7.5K of that goal, and were able to save most of that money, which we have used to help open the doors of our new space:

Roswell Rehearsals – Site 7

We are now “Pushing Play” on the GoFundMe and asking for your help to raise the rest of the $80k by April of 2025, which would have been the 10th Anniversary of the Grand Opening of the original space.

If you are able to offer support in any way, we would greatly appreciate it. In 2022, 24 fantastic and diverse local artists generously contributed to a fundraising compilation album called “The Roswell Effect”. It gives a small snap shot of the talent who has passed through our doors. This album is still available to buy on Bandcamp. We are also launching a Membership Program, which will eventually offer reduced rates to musicians, but initially will be a way for you to support us through the early days. All subscriptions to the Roswell Supporter Membership will be added to this GoFundMe total and will also offer you a 5% discount on rehearsals and select Roswell Rehearsals merchandise, for the duration of your membership.

All donations, no matter how small or large will be just as important, and if you have any ideas on how to help us reach our goal, we would love to hear from you.

If you would like to know more about us or the campaign, please feel free to reach out to us.

Let's strengthen our music community together!

Yours faithfully,

Anita & Trevor Johnson aka The Roswells