Christopher Polk/Getty ImagesFor the next three days, you can virtually attend panels, discussions and workshops on mental health as part of the inaugural 320 Festival. Created by Talinda Bennington, the late Linkin Park frontman Chester Bennington‘s widow, in partnership with Warped Tour founder Kevin Lyman, the online event will also feature a host of musical performances.
Speaking to ABC Audio, Talinda explains that the 320 Festival came from her hope to connect different mental health organizations, campaigns and resources in a single place. From there, she figured she could make the event even bigger with live music.
“I thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be really great to have these non-profits onsite with live music?'” she recalls. “And I was, like, ‘What’s the most fun tour, the most popular tour?’ And, of course, Warped Tour came to my mind.”
A brief meeting with Lyman soon blossomed into a whole partnership, and the 320 Festival was born. Originally conceived to take place this Saturday in Los Angeles, it’ll now take place May 8-10 online due to COVID-19.
Some of the musical performers include Coldplay‘s Chris Martin, Badflower, and members of Blue October, Everclear and Sum 41. Additionally, artists including Linkin Park‘s Mike Shinoda, Guns N’ Roses‘ Duff McKagan and Yungblud will be making appearances.
Talinda describes 320 as a whole as “raw,” “very honest,” and “very from the heart,” which could also describe Chester’s approach to music.
“From everybody that’s working on it, to everybody that’s performing, speaking, everybody’s doing it from a place of love, and genuine care and concern,” Talinda says. “For that reason alone, I know 100 percent Chester would love this.”
320 Festival will stream live via YouTube and Facebook, among other platforms. Visit 320Festival.comfor more info.
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