(Left to right) Jayci Kaufman, Nick Partridge, Kade Weinmann, Adi Mars, Jesse Lung and Nico Linik make up alternative band Cellar Dwellar. Credit: Mick Martinez
Ahead of its new single “Alecto,” Columbus-based alternative band Cellar Dwellar will embark on its “The Initiation Tour” this weekend.
Cellar Dwellar is made up of vocalist/guitarist Kade Weinmann, guitarist Nick Partridge, guitarist Adi Mars, bassist Jayci Kaufman, drummer Nico Linik and saxophonist Jesse Lung. The group’s upcoming tour consists of three shows: Thursday at the Grog Shop in Cleveland, Friday at Blind Rage Records in Dayton, Ohio, and Saturday at Weinmann’s residence — dubbed “The Crypt” — in Columbus.
Every show will double as a costume contest at which audience members can receive various prizes, Weinmann said. The tour’s Columbus stop will raise money for Kaleidoscope Youth Center, an organization that helps create safe spaces for LGBTQ+ youth both in Columbus and across Ohio, according to the center’s website.
Choosing to support Kaleidoscope Youth Center was an obvious choice for Cellar Dwellar, Kaufman said.
“It is close to home for me, and I think Kade as well,” Kaufman said. “I want to make sure that kids that are like me that don’t have support systems or money or a place to live, that they have somewhere to go so that they can continue to grow up and be happy.”
Weinmann agreed.
“A lot of people who come to our shows are also queer,” Weinmann said. “I think it’s the most easily sympathetic [service organization] that people would be happy to donate money to, and we could see immediate results from locally.”
Weinmann said the band’s members previously visited Kaleidoscope during their middle school years; what’s more, Weinmann even donated their first-ever guitar to the organization.
Weinmann said Cellar Dwellar is no stranger to both participating in and hosting benefit shows. The group raised $1,100 for Guitars not Guns in 2021, as well as $450 for Leaving Dwell in 2022, they said.
Also in 2022, the band played shows organized by Teamball Collective to help raise $700 in support of Ukraine as well as $726 for Planned Parenthood, Weinmann said. Cellar Dwellar also performed at local band Rat Motel’s Ratfest — which raised $1,780 for Restavek Freedom, a nonprofit that combats child slavery in Haiti — this past September.
To celebrate the weekend tour, “Alecto” will be released Saturday as the first single off of Cellar Dwellar’s sophomore album, which is titled “In the Shape of a Swan” and scheduled for a January 2024 release.
“The Crypt’s” doors will open at 6:30 p.m., and concert admission is priced at $8. More information about Cellar Dwellar and “The Initiation Tour” — including The Crypt’s address — can be obtained on the band’s Instagram.
