Where we started

30 years of playing concerts in some of the most desolate places

This past October, I sat down for in interview with Ian Bick, host of the hit podcast ‘Locked In With Ian Bick’, where Ian “…exposes stories of incarceration, redemption, and the human capacity for change.” The interview was a great experience, and it gave me the opportunity to reflect on my work of the past 30 years.

30 years of playing in prisons, rehab centers, juvenile detention facilities, and anyplace where there residents are not free to leave. 30 years of concerts for the destitute and marginalized, which we offer for free. 30 years of hard lonely work, driving across the country with no sleep for no pay. In those 30 years, Concerts for Hope has played at over 1,500 correctional facilities here and abroad, and countless other crisis pregnancy centers, homeless shelters, rehab facilities and similar places. If they have a couple of electrical outlets and a few chairs, Concerts for Hope will be there.

Why do we do it?

I have often been asked why I have chosen such a hard path? The answer is both simple and complex. Redemption. I believe the gifts of beauty and music speak into people’s hearts in a way that words can not. Over the years, I have been humbled to witness the conversion of heart, the redemption of a soul and the birth of hope in people who had lost everything. I have seen this happen in the most unforgiving places in the people who are hardest to forgive. Even when their circumstances stay exactly the same, their interior journey is profound. That is why we do it.

But we didn’t do it alone.

True, the prison concert tours are arduous and lonely, but the interview with Ian Bick got me reflecting on the past 30 years and the supportive community that has grown up around Concerts for Hope. You have made all this possible. Redemption is described as an act or state of being rescued or freed. Your support for Concerts for Hope over the years has rescued and freed the hearts of so many people. You have brought dignity and hope to people who believed they were beyond forgiveness, beyond compassion and beyond redemption. I am humbled by your continuing support, and grateful for all you do.

Learn more.

There is a great mini documentary about our prison concerts on my website. If you haven’t watched it, please take a look. It is a great window into the experience. Please consider subscribing to this newsletter. We will have lots more to share about Concerts for Hope and other upcoming events. And leave a message. This community is an essential part of Concerts for Hope. Please keep in touch.

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