Friday night’s show at Motorco already offered a solid (and free) local bill: Mac McCaughan, Birds of Avalon and Zack Mexico. The gig came about through Sandi Sanderlin, who worked as an executive assistant at Durham’s ReverbNation and who collaborated with Motorco’s Glenn Boothe to set it up. What began as a private party for the company expanded into a free concert open to the public and featuring some excellent North Carolina talent, something Boothe says was entirely Sanderlin’s idea.
Now, the bill has a fundraising cause, too: On November 26, Sanderlin passed away unexpectedly, leaving behind two young children. ReverbNation has now made the show a benefit for Sanderlin’s family, with proceeds going to a fund for the children’s college education. The show will still be free, but they’ll be collecting donations. Motorco will donate a portion of bar sales to the cause, too.
Boothe says he knew Sanderlin for over a decade. After he bought Local 506 in 2004, he soon noticed her unbridled enthusiasm for live music. She would arrive early, stand up front and take in as much of it as she could. That energy bled over into their making Friday night’s show happen—it was, and still is, her show, Boothe says.
“I remember when Ben Folds Five reunited the first time and played a show at Memorial Hall—at time their only plan of reuniting—seeing her at the show singing at the top of her lungs,” Boothe says. “I think everyone was seated, and I think she was the first person to stand up. She was like the head cheerleader for that show.”
If you can’t make Friday’s show—or if you’ve got some money to spare for Sanderlin’s kids—you can donate directly to a meal train to help homemade meals make their way to her family in the coming weeks.
