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Keeping Riley perform in Bodek Lounge for the SAW Benefit Concert, part of Anti-Poverty Week. Credit: Raven Willis

“I promise it will be worth the wait, we’re awesome,” said Rahul Kulkarni, lead guitarist of Keeping Riley, in reference to a minor delay in starting the concert.

The band played in Houston Hall Thursday evening in a concert co-sponsored by Student Ambassadors of the World and the Kite and Key Society as part of the Civic House Associates Coalition’s Anti-Poverty Action Week. The event was organized to raise money for the sustainable fashion company Of Rags.

“CHAC is conducting a weeklong program to combat worldwide poverty,” College senior and President of Kite and Key David Kaltman said. “This event fits with that mission by helping to combat poverty in Africa.”

Of Rags employs Ghanaian refugees to manufacture sustainable clothing and gives 40 percent of its profits back to the refugees through education programs on HIV and disease prevention.

Keeping Riley decided to partner up with Of Rags after Kulkarni’s cousin helped establish a connection with J. Branson Skinner, CEO and co-founder of the company.

“I guess it was sort of Branson knowing where we were in our career and us knowing where he was. We were both really just starting out,” Keeping Riley lead singer Noah Hercky said. “We thought it would be a good partnership because the clothing matches the style of our band.”

“We believe in his cause and he believes in our band,” Hercky added.

Keeping Riley played a few songs from their new album, Welcome Fire, which was produced by Michael Seifert and is currently available on iTunes.

While most of the band’s music is not socially conscious, the band still feels its music will help promote the charity and cause.

“For us, it’s mostly about creating a feel-good atmosphere that opens the door to people coming in,” Kulkarni said. “We’re tying fashion, music and philanthropy together in one cohesive bundle that we think will appeal to college kids.”

The band is currently touring many colleges across the country as part of their Of Rags tour. They have already played at Tufts University, New York University and Rutgers University and will play and Boston University today and Harvard University in the near future.

While the turnout was slightly below the band and organizers’ expectations, they were both still happy with the outcome.

“It was a little smaller than we expected,” Kulkarni said. “But it was still great. The crowd seemed to be really into it and we sold some CDs and shirts.”

“We take it one day at a time but we’d love to be affiliated with [Of Rags],” Hercky said of the band’s future. “We’ve had a great experience so far and I see no reason for it to end.”

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