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The other day, I did something I’ve never done before—I attended a Heart & Soul show.

I’ve played in a lot of Heart & Soul shows—about a hundred, over the years. I’ve lugged my upright bass to nursing homes and rehab facilities and even the State Prison, and I’ve had a great time doing it. Now I’m on the board of Heart & Soul, and I volunteered to write this letter. I thought it would be easy to tell you, from my own personal experience, about “the healing power of music.” But then I worried: what do I really know about it? I’ve read about it, and I’ve seen videos of practically vegetative patients coming to life with earphones on—but my own personal experience of Heart & Soul is that it’s fun. I’m up there propping up my big, awkward instrument, trying to play in tune, listening to my bandmates, trading smiles with the residents who’ve come to hear, and it’s a great time. Now, seriously, who’s going to donate money just so that I can have a great time Give Now-->

So I went to somebody else’s show.

 

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• Created on December 28, 2016.

Heart & Soul Newsletter 2016 - printable version

It is Tuesday, August 23, 2016, and Ken and Mike just left City Creek Post Acute Care after an hour and 45 minutes. These two bigger-than-life guys arrived 30 minutes early, armed with big smiles, two guitars, a banjo and a vast repertoire of songs. But, most importantly, big, soft hearts.

As I went room to room to gather residents for the performance, there was one gentleman that I really wanted to attend the performance. He had been put on hospice just a few weeks earlier.

Don Behrman, known to his music friends and Heart & Soul audiences as Dominoe, left this earthly home on Tuesday, March 8, 2016. Barely 72, he left us way too soon.

Dominoe knew all the standards that our audiences love. He was our story-telling, rockin’ cowboy, Nashville star and sang songs by Elvis, Johnny Cash, Don Williams and Merle Haggard, and more.

Director’s Message: 1,000 shows, countless lives touched. It’s been a tremendous year. Heart & Soul topped the 1,000-show-per-year mark, serving over 25,000 isolated neighbors from Ogden to Spanish Fork.

Three years ago, Heart & Soul received a one-time gift that helped us expand our service area. And what do you know, it turns out residents outside of our comfortable bubble also crave music’s healing power.