We’ve all come to know and love Jennifer Roth’s passion for the music community through the venue she owns and manages, White Schoolhouse. But very few know about Roth’s main passion: advocating for people impacted by the legal system.

Roth, who is a public defender, is bringing her two passions together this weekend with a concert marking the 60th anniversary of Gideon v. Wainwright, the case in which the U.S. Supreme Court held that the Sixth Amendment requires states to provide attorneys to people with felony charges if they cannot afford counsel. This is part of a nationwide celebration with Concerts for Indigent Defense and National Association for Public Defense. “A celebration calls for music and music moves people, which is another goal of this event: to move people to act,” says Roth. “We must rally support for public defense. Without proper funding and resources for defense providers, the constitutional right to counsel is unrealized.”

The concert includes performances by BongoTini, Possum Boy, and Frydman & Harris. It’s a pretty stacked lineup, with at least 15 musicians in the show. What’s special about this lineup, however, is that each of the three acts has at least one member who is an attorney. Rick Frydman, half of Frydman and Harris, says “We will be sure to include songs that feature both good and bad characters,
criminal defendants, hammers of justice and bells of freedom. We look forward to
celebrating 60 years of the right to counsel. It’s worth singing about!”

You can catch all the musicians this Saturday, March 18, from 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at White Schoolhouse, 1510 N. Third.