In November 2016, Porter Robinson got a call that would change his family’s life. His 17-year-old brother Mark was diagnosed with Burkitt lymphoma, an aggressive, fast-growing cancer.
After intensive treatment at UNC Hospital on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill from his doctors and the rest of their staff, Mark was eventually cured and is now thriving. Today, Porter announced he is starting a foundation to help children with this same condition in the country of Malawi.
In the US, Burkitt lymphoma is very rare and more than 90% of children survive. In Malawi, where it is the most common childhood cancer, the survival rate can be as low as 29%. Dr. Kate Westmoreland, one of Mark’s doctors, leads the pediatric cancer program UNC runs in Malawi called UNC Project-Malawi.
Robinson launched a foundation in conjunction with UNC Project-Malawi called the Robinson Malawi Fund. Its mission is to help improve the survival rate in that region so fewer families there will needlessly lose loved ones. Every dollar given goes 100 times further to save the lives of children with cancer in Malawi, and more resources translate directly to higher survival rates.
Porter Robinson’s SECOND SKY FESTIVAL will have a booth with Dr. Westmoreland on site to share information and accept donations for this cause. Porter will match all donations made at the festival.
In addition, Porter and Goldenvoice are donating one dollar from each ticket sale for the sold-out event, and the festival’s online live stream will also feature a way to make donations.
The festival is expected to be a one-of-a-kind unique event for his fans set to take place Saturday, June 15 and Sunday, June 16 at Middle Harbor Shoreline Park (MHSP) in the Bay Area of Northern California. SECOND SKY will be stacked with performances by international artists specially curated by Robinson featuring performances on both days by Madeon (DJ Set), Cashmere Cat, G Jones (Saturday only), Kero Kero Bonito, Chrome Sparks, Anamanaguchi, Wednesday Campanella and Nina Las Vegas, with a major special surprise guest set for the Sunday. To top it all off, Porter Robinson’s SECOND SKY headlining performance will mark the return of his groundbreaking “Worlds Live” show for its only 2019 appearance. Tickets for both days are sold-out.
For more information, visit the website.
