
Alumni Band to Headline Benefit Concert for Detained Journalist Morgan Milardo, who manages the Berklee Popular Music Institute, shares the story behind the concert and how people can help support efforts to free Evan Gershkovich, a reporter detained in Russia.
By
Tori Donahue
May 24, 2023
Berklee alumni band Mom Rock will perform at the benefit concert for Evan Gershkovich at Taffeta in Lowell, Massachusetts, on Friday, June 23.
Image courtesy of the Berklee Popular Music Institute
Morgan Milardo, managing director for the Berklee Popular Music Institute (BPMI), understands the transformative power of live music. Her course, BPMI Live, prepares students for major festival gigs across the U.S., not just as performers but as A&R reps, publicists, production assistants, and more. Prior to Berklee, she spent years managing and touring with independent bands. Now shes using those skills-and her Berklee community relationships-to organize a benefit concert for a family friend, Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was detained in Russia on March 29 while on a reporting trip and accused of espionage. The concert will take place at Taffeta in Lowell, Massachusetts, on Friday, June 23, at 8:00 p.m. We recently caught up with Milardo to learn more about the event.
Morgan Milardo, managing director, Berklee Popular Music Institute
Can you describe your personal connection to Evan Gershkovich? Evan is a very close friend of my younger brother, Luke Milardo. Luke and Evan met in their freshman year at Bowdoin College; they almost immediately became great friends. They are both incredibly smart, adventurous, and hilarious. Their friend group is really special-there's about seven or eight people in the group who are all extremely committed to each other. While the group has been living all over the globe for the past few years since they graduated, they do a great job of keeping in touch regularly and showing up for important milestones, such as weddings, funerals, and everything in between. Evan is no exception to that. While he's been living his dream in Russia for years, he's stayed close to those who love him back home. Luke actually just received a letter from Evan in prison. While Luke can't share specific details, he confirms Evan is still his witty, spirited self, and seems to be doing well, given the circumstances.
Tell me a little bit about how the idea for a concert came together-music is your livelihood, but how did you conceptualize this benefit concert? The idea for a benefit concert came from a recent conversation with my brother. Luke was telling me about how Evan loves indie music, and how one of his favorite things to do in Russia was to pop into small clubs and check out the local music scene. I just thought Hey, I love indie music too, and happen to be pretty decent at putting on shows. How about a benefit concert?
I believe free press is essential to a healthy and strong society. When our journalists are under attack, so is our democracy. I am proud to be raising money and awareness for these causes.
- Morgan Milardo
Around the same time, the owner of the new venue Taffeta reached out to me about having BPMI artists play at the venue. The timing was almost serendipitous. I pitched the idea, and he loved it. From there it all came together very quickly. I feel very grateful to have such amazing support from the venue, artists, and local businesses supporting the event.
What are some of the Berklee ties to the June 23 benefit concert? Berklee alumni band Mom Rock is headlining the show, and current Berklee band Little Fuss, who are performing at Boston Calling, is joining them. Mom Rock was a BPMI artist in 2021; we booked them to perform at Music Midtown in Atlanta. They were incredibly fun to work with, and I've been wanting to bring them back to New England for a meaningful show for a while now. Little Fuss is a Berklee band that has been on my radar for a few years. I'm a big fan, and I'm super excited to have them on the bill. And lastly, Blue Light Bandits, a rock band from Worcester, is managed by Jonathan Bricker, an assistant professor in the Music Business/Management Department at Berklee.
Can you tell us more about where the funds for the concert are going? Why are these causes important to you and those organizing the show? All proceeds will be split directly between the Gershkovich family to put towards efforts to bring Evan home, and an amazing nonprofit called the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), which promotes the freedom of press worldwide.
CPJ is really important to me, as unfortunately, Evan is not the only person close to my family who has been negatively affected by attacks on free press. My oldest and dearest friend, a talented and committed public radio reporter, has also experienced serious harassment, violent vandalism, and intimidation linked to her important reporting. I believe free press is essential to a healthy and strong society. When our journalists are under attack, so is our democracy. I am proud to be raising money and awareness for these causes.
Are there any details or aspects of the benefit concert you'd like to share leading up to the event? Yes, a few things! Thanks to the support of over a dozen local businesses, we'll be raffling off some amazing prizes at the event, including gift cards to restaurants, coffee shops, breweries, salons, spas, and more. Additionally, every person who attends the concert will receive a coupon for a free service at a local spa, thanks to a generous donor. We'll also have exclusive merchandise for sale, donated by a local screen printing company. All proceeds from raffles and merchandise will also be donated. It's been amazing to see just how many people support free press and stand with Evan.
More information about Evan ca
Most recent headlines
09/11/2025
Dalet today announced a transformative leap forward for media operations: Agentic Artificial Intelligence (AI) that unifies the Dalet ecosystem under one natura...
06/10/2025
France T l visions, France's leading broadcaster, has received the 2025 EBU ...
16/09/2025
NOVI, Mich. ENCO has unveiled Raptor, a cloud-based live streaming captioning encoder that injects the speed, power and reliability of real-time AI capabilities...
16/09/2025
NEW YORK Comcast NBCUniversal and NBCUniversal Local have announced that a total of $2.5 million has been awarded in 2025 to 69 nonprofit organizations servicin...
16/09/2025
AMSTERDAM Martin Euredjian has joined Atomos as director of advanced imaging and will lead innovation for advanced display technology....
16/09/2025
AMSTERDAM Calrec introduced a 48-faced Argo M and showcased its largest Argo software updates at the recently concluded IBC2025....
16/09/2025
AMSTERDAM Lawo introduced its HOME Audio Shuffler app, a replacement for a traditional baseband audio matrix within an IP-based Dynamic Media Facility, during t...
16/09/2025
CBS is reporting that the 77TH Emmy Awards hosted by Nate Bargatze on Sunday Sept. 14 was seen by more than 7.42 million viewers on the CBS Television Network a...
15/09/2025
Steve Zahn, Winona Ryder, Ethan Hawke, and Janeane Garofalo star in Ben Stiller&...
15/09/2025
Global K-Pop sensation aespa is redefining what it means to be rich with the r...
15/09/2025
Every day, millions of people around the world turn to Spotify to enjoy the audi...
15/09/2025
After months of intensive planning and implementation, Brembo SGL Carbon Ceramic...
15/09/2025
A U.S. Marine launches a Javelin shoulder-fired anti-tank missile during a training exercise. (Photo credit: U.S. Marine Corps)...
15/09/2025
AMSTERDAM TV Tech has named its Best of Show Awards winners for IBC2025, which wraps up today. Entrants were judged by a panel of industry experts on the criter...
15/09/2025
Unique sports content orchestration platform builds momentum among SES's cus...
15/09/2025
Paris, France - September 15, 2025 -- Space42 (ADX: SPACE42), the UAE-based AI-p...
15/09/2025
Back to All News
The Great Flood' Teaser Trailer Previews A Gripping Struggle for Survival
Entertainment
15 September 2025
GlobalSouth Korea
Link copi...
15/09/2025
Back to All News
From Hardship to Hope: Typhoon Family' Presents a Tale of...
15/09/2025
Back to All News
Gloom Goes Global as Wednesday's' The Doom Tour Hit...
15/09/2025
-- Opens door to growth in renewable energy New Delhi, India - 15th September -- Global business and industry leaders from around the world are joining technol...
14/09/2025
Partnership to address business and technical challenges of DMF adoption
he Advanced Media Workflow Association (AMWA) and the European Broadcasting Union (EBU...
14/09/2025
WARNER BROS. TELEVISION'S THE PITT (HBO MAX) WINS FIVE EMMY AWARDS, INCLU...
14/09/2025
Back to All News
Mantis' Trailer Previews High-Stakes Rivalries to Be No. ...
13/09/2025
ATLANTA Cox Media Group has announced that the company's vice president of news, Misty Turnbull has been inducted into the National Academy of Television Ar...
13/09/2025
AMSTERDAM Shotoku Broadcast Systems, a major developer of robotic systems, has announced plans to take studio robotics to the next level at IBC2025 by debuting ...
13/09/2025
At IBC2025 in Amsterdam, Riedel Communications unveiled Bolero Mini, the company's lightest and flattest wireless intercom beltpack to date. Designed to del...
13/09/2025
Shotoku Broadcast Systems, the international developer of dependable, userfriendly robotic systems, is taking studio robotics to the next level at IBC 2025 with...
13/09/2025
Bitmovin, a leading provider of video streaming solutions, today released the 9th annual Video Developer Report 2025/26, offering an in-depth look at the evolvi...
13/09/2025
Bitmovin, the leading provider of video streaming solutions, today announced a strategic partnership with StreamShark, the trusted video platform for enterprise...
13/09/2025
Ikegami has chosen IBC 2025 in Amsterdam as the launch venue for a major addition to its range of viewfinders. The new VFE-P711AD is a 7-inch high resolution OL...
13/09/2025
Founder-led Merger to Fast Track R&D, Asset Library Upgrades, Tools and More; No Disruption to Pricing or Support for Users
Today, KitBash3D, a pioneer in 3D a...
13/09/2025
With NDI certification, Atomos integration, Grass Valley collaboration, and a new Monitor app, at this year's IBC, Mavis is showcasing a series of powerful...
13/09/2025
Creamsource, maker of artisan LED lighting for film and television, has unveiled the Vortex24 Soft (V24S), a 1950W native soft light and the largest soft source...
13/09/2025
When international sports streaming service DAZN secured the global rights to the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup football tournament, it set out to deliver an unmatch...
13/09/2025
Riedel Communications today announced the acquisition of hi human interface from Broadcast Solutions, bringing a powerful, vendor-agnostic control system to it...
13/09/2025
Building on its long-term relationship with audio metering specialist RTW, Calrec has integrated the company's brand new TMxCore metering platform across it...
13/09/2025
Calrec is expanding its family of future-ready self-contained Argo M control surfaces at IBC2025, with the addition of a brand new powerful 48-fader console. Co...
13/09/2025
Celtic languages - including Cornish, Irish, Scottish Gaelic and Welsh - are the U.K.'s oldest living languages. To empower their speakers, the UK-LLM sover...
13/09/2025
Harmonic's Software-Based XOS Advanced Media Processor Provides Unparalleled Efficiency and Unlocks New Business Models SAN JOSE, Calif. - Sept. 13, 2025 -...
13/09/2025
Researchers find brain region that fuels compulsive drinking Study by Scripps Research scientists shows how the brain learns to seek alcohol for relief, not jus...
12/09/2025
College Football Kickoff 2025: Fox Sports Ups Look as Canon, Sony Power Shallow ...
12/09/2025
ABC/ESPN Excited For WNBA Postseason Coverage In Revamped FormatThe Finals moves to a best-of-seven series in 2025By Mark J Burns, SVG Contributor
Friday, Sep...
12/09/2025
(L-R) Jade Croot, Rosy McEwen, and Bryn Chainey attend the 2025 Sundance Film Festival premiere of Rabbit Trap at Eccles Theatre on January 24, 2025, in Park ...
12/09/2025
For fans, we know how important it is to stay plugged into music culture and dis...
12/09/2025
Link ping, Sweden and Shipley, United Kingdom, September 12, 2025 - Agama, the expert in video observability and analytics for service quality and customer expe...
12/09/2025
IBC2025 began on Sept. 12, with exhibits and conferences running through Sept. 15 at the RAI Amsterdam Convention Center. Explore the full TV Tech coverage of t...
12/09/2025
The Best Fictional Bands (and the Artists Who Make Them Great) With Spinal Tap II: The End Continues hitting theaters and songs from KPop Demon Hunters ruling...
12/09/2025
Industry veteran Tom Baldassare has joined Advanced Systems Group, LLC (ASG), a technology and services provider for media creatives and content owners, as a Se...
12/09/2025
Maxon, maker of powerful, approachable software solutions for creators working in 2D and 3D design, motion graphics, visual effects, and more, today announced a...
12/09/2025
PlayBox Neo, a leading provider of media playout solutions, has partnered with AI-Media, pioneering developers of AI-powered captioning technology, to integrate...