Athenians of all ages and walks of life came together on Friday, Dec. 12 for Nuçi’s Space’s 25th anniversary benefit concert. The Georgia Theatre was packed by patrons in support of local music and mental health.
The lineup included artists whose lives have been shaped by the organization, from Camp Amped alums to key players who have helped sustain Nuçi’s Space. Performers included Faye Webster, Kevn Kinney, Patterson Hood,Willow Avalon, Kyshona, Claire Campbell, David Barbe, Annie Leith, Elf Power,Modern Skirts and The Cut Outs House Band.
The outpouring of support could be traced back to a single place: the dark blue building on Oconee Street that became a symbol of resilience and a pillar in the Athens music community.
A Nuçi’s Space 25th Anniversary bandana draped over a lamp at the merchandise table on Dec. 12, 2025 at the Nuçi’s Space 25th Anniversary Benefit Concert at the Georgia Theatre. (Photo/Kaitlyn Harvey)
Creating ‘a beautiful here’
Nuçi’s Space opened its doors on Sept. 30, 2000, founded by Linda Phillips to honor the memory of her son, Nuçi and to provide local musicians with mental health resources. Nuçi, a young Athenian musician, died by suicide on Thanksgiving Day in 1996. In her memoir, “A Beautiful Here,” Linda Phillips recounted Nuçi’s mental health struggles, the loss of her son and how she transformed that grief into action to create the organization.
“I wanted a place that was safe, healthy and sympathetic to the needs of all who pass through,” Linda Phillips said.
That vision became a space where musicians could rehearse while also receiving mental health services or referrals to affordable care. At the time, mental health stigma was far more pronounced, and few resources like Nuçi’s Space existed. But this did not scare people like Patterson Hood, co-founder of Drive-By Truckers, away.
Patterson Hood speaks to the crowd during the Nuçi’s Space 25th Anniversary Benefit Concert on Dec. 12, 2025 at the Georgia Theatre. (Photo/Kaitlyn Harvey)
Hood said his first connection to Nuçi came through music. In 1996, Flagpole assembled a compilation CD of Christmas songs that featured both Drive-By Truckers and Nuçi Phillips. Hood became enamored with the track and heartbroken when hearing the news of his suicide.
When Linda Phillips began fundraising to create Nuçi’s Space, Hood became intrigued even when the concept wasn’t initially clear. “I mean, it’s a pretty crazy idea with the way she went about it,” Hood said. “But I was intrigued and knew that it was coming from a really honest and kind of beautiful place. So I was inclined to want to support it.”
That interest soon led to the first Drive-By Truckers annual fundraiser, Heathens Homecoming. Hood also joined the organization’s board of directors alongside his wife, Rebecca, and has watched Nuçi’s Space evolve since its early days..
Another figure present from the beginning is current CEO Bob Sleppy. After losing a close friend to suicide during his sophomore year of college, Linda Phillips’ initiative made his ears perk up. In 1999, he picked up her business card at a fundraising concert for the space and connected with her over email.
Although he had no prior nonprofit experience, Linda Phillips took him under her wing, relying on his ties within the Athens music scene.
“Linda was definitely, by far, one of my closest friends,” Sleppy said. “She sometimes would be my therapist, sometimes my mom and sometimes my boss. She kind of played a lot of roles in my life. When we first started, it was just the two of us. So for many years, we worked pretty closely together.”
Linda Phillips stepped back from day-to-day involvement after moving to New York City in 2009. She died in 2021 due to pancreatic cancer, but her impact through Nuçi’s Space is still felt, and her vision continues.
“She was very much a mother figure for everybody,” Sleppy said. “She deeply cared about people. She’d come here during the daytime and then go home and still answer her telephone, talk to people and help them get through tough spots until 11 o’clock at night. She never took a salary but volunteered her time. That was just the kind of person she was.”
The Modern Skirts performing at the Nuçi’s Space 25th Anniversary Benefit Concert on Dec. 12, 2025 at the Georgia Theatre. (Photo/Kaitlyn Harvey)
Looking toward the future
Beyond serving as a third space and music venue, one of Nuçi’s Space’s biggest initiatives in recent years has been its youth outreach programs.
When Sleppy made the transition to CEO, Debbie Watson assumed the role of executive director, bringing with her years of experience as the organization’s youth program coordinator. In that role, she worked hands-on to develop and run youth events including the organization’s flagship program, Camp Amped.
Camp Amped is a summer day camp and after-school program for middle and high school students that blends music education with lessons on positive mental health. To Watson, what makes Camp Amped so special is how different types of kids come together to express themselves and come out of their shells. From band kids to goth kids to introverts, she has watched them all find their family within the space.
“It becomes a slow, little tight-knit family,” Watson said. “They’re learning just about being good humans.”
Concertgoer and former camper Ginny Henderson shared that before Camp Amped, she was an “antisocial sort of person.” However, the program served as the push she needed to be more outgoing.
At the heart of the camp’s curriculum is collaboration; teaching teamwork and compromise through the creation of different bands. Elf Power drummer Peter Alvanos has been instructing at Camp Amped since 2010 and said he reminds campers that while most of them might not want to be musicians when they grow up, they are learning important life skills regardless. What has kept Alvanos coming back over the years is not just watching growth in the kids, but growth within himself.
Peter Alvanos of Elf Power speaks to the crowd during the Nuçi’s Space 25th Anniversary Benefit Concert on Dec. 12, 2025 at the Georgia Theatre. (Photo/Kaitlyn Harvey)
“It’s just a cool thing to experience,” Alvanos said. “It helps you to become a better instructor and musician if you put the time and care into wanting to be there for them. You can’t really put into words what it’s like.”
While youth programs have expanded and grown over time, Nuçi’s Space has kept its core health initiatives strong. Most notably, its suicide prevention trainings known as QPR — question, persuade and refer — which teach participants the warning signs of a suicide crisis. These programs have expanded into other health initiatives, including subsidized eye care, dental care and medical checkups for those in need.
Nuçi’s Space also takes pride in its mental health advocates, who comfort those who come to the organization in need and help refer them to long-term care.. In 2002, Claire Campbell recalled returning to the space in search of a counselor and noted how fast and calmly the Nuçi’s Space staff were able to help her.
“It’s a very great place to land if you don’t know what to do or don’t know what you need,” Campbell said. “They paid for most of the cost of my counseling because I don’t think I had health insurance back then. They just sort of set it up, and then the ball was rolling. They were there in the background paying for almost all of it.”
This work built over decades of care and community was on full display during the anniversary benefit concert.
Celebrating a legacy
The evening kicked off under dimmed lights with a welcome from Sleppy, who thanked everyone for attending and explained that former employees and those impacted by Nuçi’s Space would take the stage during act intermissions to share their stories.
Elf Power opened the musical portion of the night, followed by a duet performance from Kevn Kinney and David Barbe. Barbe, a personal friend of Nuçi’s, shared stories about recording sessions together and spoke warmly of Linda Phillips.
David Barbe and Kevn Kinney performing at the Nuçi’s Space 25th Anniversary Benefit Concert on Dec. 12, 2025 at the Georgia Theatre. (Photo/Kaitlyn Harvey)
“She took something that tears people’s lives apart and turned it into something great for a bunch of people,” Barbe said. “She did so much great for everybody. Nuçi was my friend and he was a wonderful guy. Thank you all for being a part of this thing that Linda Phillips made.”
Representing one of Nuçi’s Space’s core programs, Camp Amped instructors Annie Leith and Claire Campbell took the stage in their respective bands. They were followed by Willow Avalon, a Camp Amped alum and rising country music star based in Nashville, Tennessee.
“I grew up here and this place is my home,” Avalon said. “Nuçi’s Space is the whole reason that I get to do this, live out my dreams and kind of the whole reason I’m alive.”
Returning to Athens from Nashville was Kyshona, who previously lived in the city and was the first host of Hendershot’s Open Mic Night. As a music therapist, she knows firsthand the strong ties between music and mental health.
“It offers you an opportunity to be reflective, aside from just being an outlet, both if you’re playing it and if you’re listening,” Kyshona said. “When you’re learning an instrument, that is a whole other part of the brain that’s executive functions.”
Later in the evening, Faye Webster performed under a dark blue light with just herself and a guitar. With millions of listeners on Spotify and several hits under her belt, she drew a younger segment of the crowd. Fans like Diana Lomeli-Gomez, a University of North Georgia freshman and Athens native, came to hear Webster perform while also knowing proceeds were going to a good cause.
Faye Webster performing at the Nuçi’s Space 25th Anniversary Benefit Concert on Dec. 12, 2025 at the Georgia Theatre. (Photo/Kaitlyn Harvey)
“I think it’s just really cool that Athens has something for everyone,” Lomeli-Gomez said. “I feel like a lot of people from my school attended Nuçi’s Space and it was nice that there was a place for kids to go.”
Closing out the night of music was Patterson Hood, whose wife, Rebecca, shared her personal story with the crowd beforehand. After losing a boyfriend to suicide, it was Linda Phillips who helped her work through the grieving process.
“Linda Phillips saved me,” Hood said. “Nuçi’s Space has helped and saved so many people in Drive-By Truckers, our family and our children.”
Overall, the evening reflected Nuçi’s Space’s greatest strength: its community. From performers to former staff members and audience members, the people who make up the organization are what keep Sleppy doing the work.
“I feel like, especially for 24 years of my life here, I think about Nuçi’s Space 24/7, but I enjoyed doing it,” Sleppy said. “I never thought about counting my hours. It just feels good to be something bigger than yourself.”