The Song Summit Foundation, formerly More Than Music Foundation, will celebrate Independence Day early with “Healing Harmonies” on July 2.
“Healing Harmonies,” which runs from 6:30-9 p.m. at the National Ability Center, 1000 Ability Wy. at Quinn’s Junction, is a celebration of veteran storytelling, connection and live music to benefit Song Summit Foundation, the nonprofit organization that supports wellness through music at Park City Song Summit, a multi-day event that focuses on music and wellness, including recovery, said Executive Director Meredith Lavitt.
“While it’s a fundraiser, it’s also an awareness event,” she said. “We’re new to the community, and we want the larger Park City community as well as the Wasatch Front and Back communities to learn about us and the work that we’re doing.”
The event will spotlight SongwritingWith:Soldiers, a nonprofit organization that uses collaborative songwriting as a catalyst for positive change, according to Lavitt.
The organization pairs veterans and their families with professional songwriters through three-day retreats and workshops across the United States, she said.
The songs are recorded and shared through streaming, concerts and social media in order to bridge understanding between military and civilian communities, according to Lavitt.
Since 2012, SongwritingWith:Soldiers has held more than 70 weekend retreats and facilitated more than 1,000 collaborative songwriting sessions for nearly 2,000 veterans, service members and their families, which resulted in more than 1000 songs produced to date, she said.
At its core, SW:S is about healing, and it uses songwriting as a unique way for veterans to tell their stories, rebuild trust, release pain and begin healing, Lavitt said.
“Professional songwriters help encourage veterans to tell their truths in the stories of their combat experiences and their return home in the form of song,” she said. “Songwriters use the power of music and songwriting to help the veterans claim their stories, understand their experiences and raise awareness about the challenges they face.”
“Healing Harmonies” will feature a discussion moderated by Ben Anderson, Park City Song Summit founder and director, and include panelists and songwriters Jay Clementi, Danny Myrick and Erin Enderlin, Lavitt said.
Clementi, SongwritingWith:Soldiers music director, wrote Luke Bryan’s 2017 No. 1 song “Move” and penned other songs for artists such as Dierks Bentley, Sara Evans, Martina McBride, Darius Rucker, Sunny Sweeney, The Josh Abbott Band and Radney Foster.
Myrick grew up playing, singing and writing for his family gospel band in south Mississippi and was 17 when he landed his first No. 1 gospel song — “Jesus Is the Light,” recorded by the Dixie Melody Boys.
Since then, Myrick has penned seven No. 1 gospel hits and founded the country-rock band Western Flyer.
Some of Myrick’s songs have been recorded by Jason Aldean, Tim McGraw, Kenny Chesney, Joe Cocker, Maddie & Tae and Eddie Vedder.
Enderlin has been honored at the Country Music Hall Of Fame & Museum’s annual American Currents exhibit, which was featured on CMT’s “Make It Country.” In addition to opening the 2021 CMT’s Next Women of Country Tour, headlined by Tanya Tucker, Enderlin took home Country Artist, Songwriter, Song, and Album of the Year from the 2020 Arkansas Country Music Awards.
“All of these songwriters have worked with soldiers and veterans, and the discussion will cover the impact their work has had, what they’ve learned through their work and how the work they have done has helped veterans make sense of their traumas and the things they have witnessed and move on,” Lavitt said.
In addition to the discussion and live music, “Healing Harmonies” will also include food trucks and other treats, according to Lavitt.
“We hope the community comes out to kick off the Fourth of July week with this special event,” she said.