The name may be unfamiliar, but the players behind Club Tiger Promotions are highly recognizable to any one who follows the D.C. music scene. Local artists Carol Bui and Jay Smith of Middle Distance Runner have started an all-ages venue, The Lab in Alexandria, which will both give under-age bands a place to play with their more seasoned peers and serve as an environment where, as Bui puts it, “kids feel totally comfortable and safe playing, hanging out, watching and
supporting their peers.”

Smith is keen to push the point that just because the events will be alcohol-free, doesn’t mean folks should feel they’re limited to the high school crowd. “The point is that it’s really opened to anyone that wants to see this kind of music and also learn out about important local issues that they can get involved with,” he said.

In addition to seeing a wide variety of local acts, each Club Tiger show will raise awareness for a different local charity. Smith got the idea from a show Middle Distance Runner played recently at Galaxy Hut that a group of high-schoolers put together for a classmate who had cancer.

“It was very powerful and I just thought, ‘What if we could do this stuff regularly?'” Smith said.

Saturday night’s kick-off event at The Lab (located at 1819 N. Quaker Lane in Alexandria) will support The Zion Project, an Arlington that seeks to help child soldiers in Uganda. Performers will include Pash, Georgia’s Elevado, Shapes Not Sounds and Worn in Red. Doors are at 8:30 p.m. and there’s a $5 cover.

Bui and Smith answered a few of our questions about Club Tiger Promotions and shows at The Lab. The full interview after the jump.