Guy Nouri and Bill Hudson wanted to assist communities affected by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. During that time, the historical sounds of country, blues and jazz were muted as people tried to rebuild their lives after the destruction and death.
They gathered their musicians contacts and brought the healing power music to those in need.
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Bill loves to bounce ideas off his friends when he has them. He got in touch with Guy Nouri of Dragonfly.com and told him “Wouldn’t it be cool to go down to the devastated areas and play music for the people for free?” He just wanted to play music and let the healing power work it’s magic.
Guy agreed that it was a brilliant idea. Bill was thrilled to hear this. Sometimes he worries about his thoughts. Guy donated funding that made the trip possible. The trip would not have been possible without Dragonfly.com. Guy Nouri, who supported this project even though there wasn’t a plan at the time, is sincerely appreciated by all of us.
Guy and Bill brought up the idea. Everyone thought it was great. Bill reached out and got the support of several of his closest friends. Al Coffey, a fellow Roanoke musician from Virginia joined Bill for his first trip and has continued to go since.
Scientific evidence has shown that music’s healing powers can reduce heart rates, blood pressure and cortisol levels. They also help to ease anxiety and improve mood. For decades, music’s power to alter the landscape of the human body has been employed through music therapy programs throughout the world.
“Music therapy is an established form of therapy to help individuals address physical, emotional, cognitive and social needs,” [Shilagh] Mirgain, Ph.D said. “Music helps reduce heart rate, lower blood pressure and cortisol in the body. It can ease anxiety and help with mood improvement.
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“Across the history of time, music has been used in all cultures for healing and medicine. Each culture recognizes the value of music and has made it a part of their daily lives. Even Hippocrates believed music was deeply intertwined with the medical arts.”
This is something that no one understands better than the people who are able to provide healing tools through their talents and skills. What a shame it would be for them to have to part with the physical instruments they use in their therapy and healing.
Bill and Al became musicians when they were both struck by the healing powers of music. The Feel Good Tour truly is all about that. You might know from experience that while the main stage music is fantastic, there’s more to the festival at the camps. In a sense, this is exactly what it is. Let the music tell its story and help people heal.
Bill and Al discovered another area need while playing in Louisiana. Perhaps they can find a way to help people and schools get the musical instruments that were taken by Katrina.
As the poet Arthur O’Shaughnessy penned, “We are the music makers, And we are the dreamers of dreams.” Hudson and Nouri widened their mission and worked to supply those replacement instruments to schools, and individuals who had lost so much.
The Feel Good Tour, as it is commonly known, is about this. To bring the healing, soothing and uplifting power of music into places that people are in need of it after tragedy strikes. Also, to inspire the next generation of musicians.
Seventeen years later, the organization has given over 700 musical instruments to four Gulf Coast schools, one school in West Virginia, and they have partnered with the “In Our Own Backyard” program in Roanoke, Virginia to supply instruments locally.
The Feel Good Tour and the WoodSongs Old Time Radio Hour teamed up after December’s tornadoes in Kentucky. The joint effort distributed 700 instruments to Kentucky musicians on March 18.
“There are so many musicians out here, and they lost everything, they lost their home, business, family, friends and livelihoods. What we can do is restore the music and the spirit of home,” said Michael Jonathon, a folk singer who helped organize the event.
In just a few short months they had collected hundreds of guitars.
“People were crying when getting a mandolin, a fiddle, or a guitar, or a banjo. There hearts were so moved,” he said.
Instruments that are in working and good condition can be donated by anyone. Band instruments, such as woodwinds or brass horns, are highly sought-after by schools. Stringed instruments, like guitars, mandolins and violins as well as cellos, cellos and banjos are also in demand. Send an email to the 501c3 organisation [email protected]They will work with you to arrange shipping to Roanoke in Virginia. Feel Good Tour has had instruments shipped from every state in the United States and as far as Alaska.
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