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Health & Fitness

All Over The Place: Westfield Man Organizes Concert Series At Local Church To Benefit Youth Group

Young Life's Jim Lloyd has big plans for Westfield's live music scene, starting this Sunday.

Westfield. It’s a nice place to live, but it doesn’t have much of a local music scene except for The Static Jacks. Up until now, you were unlikely to see that or any band making an appearance in town. Westfield’s Jim Lloyd would like to change that.

On Sunday, December 18, Lloyd, area director for Young Life Central Jersey, will be holding the first of a proposed series of monthly concerts aimed at area teens and young adults. The concert will feature two young indie rock bands making a stop on their “Secret Santa” tour, Rocky Loves Emily and Move Out West.

"Clueless" by Rocky Loves Emily

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Young Life is a non-denominational Christian ministry for teenagers. A former attorney, Lloyd has worked for YLCJ for three years. He switched careers because he felt called to it. His typical duties include running a ministry for children at local middle and high schools in Westfield and Scotch Plains, including Union County Magnet High School and Union Catholic High School. There are approximately 200 children involved with Young Life locally.

Lloyd also coordinates a ministry for teen mothers in Plainfield and North Plainfield called Young Lives. Said Lloyd, “We have weekly meetings with kids. We also try to go out and meet kids where they are, sporting events, school functions. We support the kids that we know and try to meet new ones.” He also spends time on fundraising, as well as maintaining relationships with people in the community.

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The concert series is designed to raise money for kids to go to camp this summer.

“A part of Young Life ministry is bringing kids away from home and what they’re plugged into. We bring kids to camp. They get to have fun and get deeper about who they are. We share the Gospel message with them. Our group is going to a camp in Arizona called Lost Canyon, so we’re trying to raise money to help kids cover the cost of airfare and get out there,” stated Lloyd.

Young Life Central Jersey hopes to raise $30,000 overall for the trip.

Lloyd got a taste of concert promotion when he attended Montclair State University. He is applying those skills here in Westfield.

“The First Baptist Church youth group used to host band nights on a regular basis. They had a really good reputation for bringing in good local high school bands. We’ve been thinking about reviving it for a while,” said Lloyd.

He has previous experience with one of the bands playing on Sunday. “I put on a show about a year and a half ago. Move Out West played here with another band called The Here And Now. They put on a great show. I reached out to them to see what their availability was. They had a tour going on and they had this date available,” said Lloyd.

Future shows are in the planning stages. Lloyd intends to have a wide range of bands and musical styles, including hip-hop and Christian artists. He is also hoping to have The Static Jacks play a show in Westfield.

Ultimately, Lloyd is hoping to attract all kinds of people to the Young Life concert series. “We’re looking for teens and young adults that want to hear some good music. We’re hoping that we can provide a safe, fun environment with some good music right here so they don’t have to travel,” he said.

If you want to learn more about Young Life Central Jersey, they have a Web page, a Facebook page and a Twitter feed.

Rocky Loves Emily and Move Out West will be appearing at the First Baptist Church (170 Elm Street, Westfield) at 4 p.m. on Sunday, December 18. Admission is $10. For more information, contact Jim Lloyd at (973) 615-6881.

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