Root Cause

Interview takes place on February 25, 2025 at Frost Town Brewing 

“Before I met my network, I was a serial volunteer,” says Andrea Guerrero, founder of Houston music and social justice platform, Root Cause. “I’m just a human, and I wanted to help others… I didn’t think it was going to come this far.”

Guerrero’s unique gateway into the volunteer world was urban farming, which she discovered a passion for while living in Austin, TX. “I was in between jobs,” she says, “and I didn't know I had a knack for it, but I could grow some food.”

Not only could she grow food, but she thrived doing it, especially as a way to serve the community. Taking her passion for urban farming back to Houston, Guerrero continued to volunteer in this capacity until Hurricane Harvey hit in 2017. It was at this point that growing food turned into mucking walls and shoveling water out of homes, and she began to develop a deeper interest in activism and social justice. 

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“That whole experience really made you see the inequities of the system and how BIPOC communities are affected with things like flooding, power outages, and freezing,” she says. 

Moved by this experience, in early 2022, “When the Ukraine war broke out, I had that same feeling of, ‘Man…I wanna help.’” 

Determined to make a difference, she decided to launch Play For Ukraine, a platform in which she would visit and host open mics to draw support for Ukraine. By placing a sign on the stage that directed people to online resources, Guerrero was able to not only raise awareness for this cause, but also gain a community of supporters who wanted to help, all over the span of just a few months.

“I just wanted to keep people aware of what was going on and plug them in,” she says, remembering her early open mics. “I didn’t know what to expect, really. I was just like, I love people, I’m a big time extrovert, so I [would ask around] like, hey do you wanna play at this?”

As Play For Ukraine’s following grew, however, Guerrero realized that she could host more than just open mics: she could put on shows. “I could invite organizations out, invite people…and art vendors, and they could get plugged in. And there could be tables of different organizations, and they could learn about the Freeway Fighters or climate change,” for example.

So in the summer of 2022, she decided to host her first ever official show with the help of a network of organizations, activists, and musicians that she met through Play For Ukraine. “I got together with other grassroots organizations,” she elaborates, “to bring awareness to certain root causes that affect BIPOC communities, so we called the show Root Cause.”

“That was the first Root Cause event. From there, I switched from Play For Ukraine to Root Cause, which to me just meant–hey, we are fundraising [for global causes], but still locally.”

Since this rebrand, Root Cause has blossomed, and Guerrero has hosted over 30 other shows. These shows are a place where music and social justice meet: they showcase local artists, provide information about different causes, and then fundraise through donation links and ticket sales. 

“Our biggest fundraiser [yet] was really beautiful. It was for Palestine, and I think we raised like $700. You know, all the little fundraisers,” she says, “They add up. And of course, I don’t get paid to do this…and I’m not a big non-profit that’s bringing in the thousands. But hey, I’m just in my little corner trying to make an impact and bringing others with me to help.”

Fortunately, she smiles, “So many people have helped along the way. Shout-out to all of the early Play For Ukraine people who wanted to come and play. I mean, it’s the love for music that people come and, better yet, play for a cause. That really gave [me] motivation.”

Now approaching the third anniversary of Root Cause, Guerrero is looking forward to celebrating at an extra special show. “If you wanna get involved, if you wanna get plugged in, come to the Root Cause Anniversary Show,” she says. “We’ll be fundraising again for flood justice that happened in Asheville, North Carolina.”

Why an out-of-state cause? Well, one of the main lessons Guerrero has learned is this: “Those same causes they’re talking about? They’re right here in our backyard.” 

“One of the [anniversary show] artists is from [North Carolina], so they had the idea, and I was like… You know, we suffered, I suffered, the people suffered during Hurricane Harvey,” she says, thinking back on her early days as a volunteer and activist. “So I'm about it.” 

Be sure to support Root Cause at its anniversary show on March 9 from 3:00-7:00 p.m. at Frost Town Brewing. For more details, follow Root Cause on Instagram @root_cause_htx. 

Story by Shelby Mathews