Mark your calendars and set your reminders for Thursday, Sept. 9. That’s the day The Trews Acoustic Trio, Corey Hart and Gord Sinclair take part in Make Music Matter’s innovative virtual series #UnpluggedTogether.
Hosted by broadcaster Alan Cross and produced by Grammy winner David Bottrill, the streamed show is the latest in a run of special performances, candid interviews, and interactive Q&A sessions. #UnpluggedTogether is put on by the Ottawa non-profit Make Music Matter in support of Healing In Harmony, a program for trauma survivors.
The Sept. 9 event will feature The Trews Acoustic Trio, a special performance from Corey Hart, and a live Q&A with The Trews and The Tragically Hip’s Gord Sinclair. More upcoming shows include Cone McCaslin of Sum 41, Billy Talent’s Ian D’Sa, and Blackbird on Sept. 23, and Grievous Angels on Oct. 21. #UnpluggedTogether premiered Aug. 5 with The Standstills and Neil Sanderson (Three Days Grace). Tickets are $15, and 100% of the funds raised will support Healing in Harmony as part of Make Music Matter’s mission to use the creative process as a therapeutic tool to help empower marginalized individuals and communities.
“With this project, we’re building community and bringing together leaders in different areas of the music industry who are dedicated to making a difference,” says Bottrill, who is also Make Music Matters board chair. “It’s also an opportunity for fans to get up close and personal, even if virtually, with the artists who support Make Music Matter’s mission.”
Make Music Matter uses the creative process as a therapeutic tool to help empower marginalized individuals and communities. Its innovative Healing in Harmony program for trauma survivors combines psychotherapy with music therapy. Research published in April 2021 has demonstrated its effectiveness in reducing anxiety, depression, and PTSD.
Program participants emerge as empowered artists with original songs for personal healing and advocacy tools to help combat stereotypes, stigma, and shame. Their music is recorded, produced, and disseminated via local radio stations, community concerts, social media, and major streaming platforms through A4A Records, with distribution through Warner Music Canada. A ground-breaking new publishing model helps to ensure that all royalties from the songs are sent back to the artists and their communities, regardless of socio-economic circumstances.
Developed in close partnership with 2018 Nobel Peace Prize winner Dr. Denis Mukwege, the Healing in Harmony model integrates existing holistic programs. Make Music Matter works in eight countries — DRC, Rwanda, Turkey, Guinea, South Africa, Uganda, and Peru — with a first Canadian site at Fox Lake Cree Nation, Manitoba, set to begin in 2021.
Get tickets for the Sept. 9 show HERE, and get more information about #UnpluggedTogether at the Make Music Matter website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.
