Last year, I was excited to attend one of the most well-known festivities on the South Shore: The Dave Jodka Mad Love Music Festival at The South Shore Conservatory of Music in Hingham. Held in October, the festival has drawn crowds over the years, but 2018 saw over 1,000 attendees.

SHS junior Darcy Milligan participated in the 2018 festival as the lead guitarist of the headliner band, Toast, which is a rising alt-rock band.  Milligan said Dave Jodka, a former musician and Scituate native, passed away in 2014 due to terminal brain cancer. Jodka wanted his musical spirit to continue for the community and local “young rockers,” so the Jodka family formed a scholarship with The South Shore Conservatory to help bands like Toast get ahead.

According to Milligan, “Mad Love is a concept, a festival that funds Dave Jodka’s future rockers’ scholarship program, which is what Toast is.” Milligan explained, “I call it a concept because it’s not just a music festival–when people express the need for community, peace, and acceptance, they refer to it as Mad Love.” 

Toast is planning to release their new upcoming album, In Circles, on digital, so stay tuned for updates on this talented group.