Helene
CONTACT (Media and other info) radio@woodsongs.com
WE ARE HEADING TO PIKEVILLE KY on Sunday April 13 to help restore the music of the Appalachian regions affected by the massive flooding a few weeks ago. Visit WoodSongs.com/Kentucky2025
On March 9 we finished collecting and refurbishing 1,800+ instruments and brought them to the flood ravaged region of Helene in Asheville, NC at Warren Wilson College. Nearly 1000 people stood in line and every single instrument was handed out and gifted. All for free. Thanks to everybody who helped the Helene project in N Carolina, love is the greatest transaction of the arts. These are the musicians who created the soundtrack of America’s front porch and they need your support.
LISTEN to the national feature aired on NPR Morning Edition CLICK HERE
LISTEN to the event report from Asheville’s 98.1FM The RIVER CLICK HERE
Below is just one of the many stories that came from the effort:
The SURVIVOR and her MARTIN GUITAR
The floods of Helene came roaring in the area of the mountains where they lived. Jessica’s home was being fractured by the storm surge. She grabbed her disabled son and what few belongings she could gather. As the flood waters separated her from the rest of her family she grabbed a guitar case and used it as a float as she and her son were swept down river.
I heard of her story from three different sources and decided we would do something special if we could find Jessica and get her to come to the event at Warren Wilson College.
She finally arrived late in the day, and after being interviewed by NPR I told her we had put away a little surprise just for her. Amond the 1800 instruments WoodSongs gave away today we held back one very special Martin guitar, a prize for any guitar player.
We brought her gift over and I opened the case, and this photo is the expression she had when she realized we were gifting her a Martin guitar to replace the instrument that she used to float down the surging river that saved her life.
“If music be the language of love, play on.” – William Shakespeare
A big THANK YOU to Kentucky Tourism, VisitLEX, Martin Guitars, Currier’s Music World in Richmond KY, Highbridge Spring Water, Kentucky Theatre, Cathy Currier CURRIER’S MUSIC WORLD. Jack Pattie WVLK, WEKU, WTVQ, WDVX Knoxville, WETS Johnson City, WBCM FM Bristol TN/VA, 98.1 The RIVER, Hungry for Music, the FEEL GOOD TOUR and Bill Hudson, WYATT ELLIS and Family, and Doug High WTVQ, FOX56, WILLIS Music Stores of Kentucky, WUKY and Karen Czar, Fred Anderson Media, all the drop off locations across America, the incredible volunteer crew (Jude Piston. James H. Piston. Kari Estrin. Jack Pattie WVLK. Tom Martin. Roy Noble. Penny Royal. Lee Pennington. Dick Boak. Rik Palieri, Janice Alvarado. Brandon James, Suneel Talwar, Jimmy Schott. Jim Snyder. Doug High, Tamara Schneider. Fred Anderson, Gavin Clarke, Gabrielle Dahlgren, Astrid Trucks) the staff and students of WARREN WILSON COLLEGE in Asheville NC and everyone who donated to make the event possible.
HEAR PART 1 of the NPR feature by Karen Czar WUKY CLICK HERE
BELOW SEE THE RECAP VIDEO REEL (2 minutes)
BELOW ARE SOME PHOTOS of the huge event!
THE VERY FIRST GUITAR we gave away was to 5-year old Ava. She and her mom came a day early by mistake … and she really, really, really wanted a pink guitar. Well, we had one 🙂
PICTURED ABOVE Cathy Currier from CURRIER’S MUSIC WORLD and her team of luthiers restore, restring and refurbish hundreds of guitars, banjos, mandolins and more
PICTURED ABOVE the crowd forms before we bigin
PICTURED ABOVE Gavin Clarke is protecting the gas cap on our big WoodSongs box truck filled with instruments
PICTURED ABOVE 14 year old Maddie spent 6 hours on her knees setting up and labeling over 400 fiddles
PICTURED ABOVE Bryan Klausing sets up the acoustic guitar table before the crowd arrives
PICTURED ABOVE an areal drone shot of the crowd line at Warren Wilson College
PICTURED ABOVE the crowd line forms an hour before the event begins
PICTURED ABOVE mandolin master 15 year old WYATT ELLIS came to Asheville on Sunday after his premier performance on the Grand Ole Opry, pictured with some of thew instrument he and his family collected in Tennessee
PICTURED ABOVE some of the volunteer crew (from left) Brandon James, Wyatt Ellis, some tired guy in a Edgar Allan Poe shirt, Gavin Clarke and Jude Piston
Yes, we had fun 🙂
SURPRISE DINNER by the World Central Kitchen THANK YOU Martha King Freeouf
The music of the front porch is the soundtrack of America. WoodSongs has again successfully collected over 1800 FREE instruments to help restore the music of the front porches of Western N Carolina and eastern Tennessee.
HEAR the PSA regarding the March 9 distribution. RADIO/PRESS/MEDIA for an MP3 or .WAV of the PSAs or to INTERVIEW MJ email wfpa@woodsongs.com
“Warren Wilson College is proud to partner with WoodSongs in this effort. We are deeply committed to supporting the music of Western North Carolina and the larger region and is glad to assist Woodsongs in getting instruments back into the hands of musicians.” Ben Krakauer Chair, Music Program, Warren Wilson College
WHY ARE WE DOING THIS? Read about the old man and the Martin Guitar CLICK HERE
FACT: We organized instrument drives for tornado victims in western Kentucky and again for the flood victims of the mountains. Nearly 2000 instruments were collected and delivered absolutely FREE to the musicians who needed them.
SEE THE WoodSongs TORNADO EFFORT: WoodSongs.com/tornado,
SEE THE WoodSongs APPALACHIAN FLOODS EFFORT: WoodSongs.com/flood
HOW TO HELP: YOU DON’T HAVE AN INSTRUMENT BUT WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A DONATION? Great! That will help us refurbish the instruments, rent trucks and other costs. WoodSongs is a 501-c-3 Foundation. SEND A CHECK payable to WoodSongs (Helene PO Box 200, Lexington, KY 40588 … or PayPal to radio@woodsongs.com … call with a credit card 859-255-5700 … or use this button below. Thank you!
“WoodSongs Helene” NEWS UPDATES:
WKYT CBS TV • WMKY NPR • BROADWAY WORLD NEWS • BLUEGRASS TODAY/IBMA • CINCYMUSIC.com • MSN TV-NEWS • WLW (Part1) • WLW (Part2 • NORTHERN KENTUCKY TRIBUNE (Nov 12) • ARC CINCINATTI TV LINKNKY• FOXNEWS/CINCINATTI • SPECTRUM NEWS • WTVQ ABC TV • ELIZABETHTON STAR NEWS • WJHL CBS TV • 850 WHAS with Terry Meiners PART 1 • 850 WHAS with Terry Meiners PART 2 • WEKU FM with Wendy Barnett • BLUEGRASS TODAY John Lawless • BLACK MOUNTAIN NEWS (Asheville NC) • QUEEN CITY NEWS (Winston Salem NC • GEORGETOWN NEWS-GRAPHIC • WOWK TV CBS West Virginia • FOX56 TV
HEAR A MESSAGE from RIDERS IN THE SKY • HEAR A MESSAGE from JERRY DOUGLAS • HEAR A MESSAGE SAM BUSH
WE CAN DO THIS, it is more than just a good thing to do, it is important. Love is the greatest transaction of the arts and this is a chance to show it. MJ
THANK YOU to all our DROP-OFF Centers around the country!
KENTUCKY LOCATIONS
MAIN DROP OFF/SHIPPING: KENTUCKY THEATRE 214 Main St. in Lexington, KY 40507 1PM-8PM (a local music store might have shipping boxes you can use to UPS instruments to the Kentucky Theatre)THIS LOCATION WILL BE COLLECTING UNTIL MARCH 15
THANK YOU ALL OUR DROP OFF LOCATIONS THAT HELPED!
WILLIS MUSIC Florence 7567 Mall Rd. Florence, KY 41042
florence@willismusic.com or call 859.525.6050
WILLIS MUSIC Lexington 130 W. Tiverton Way Lexington, KY 40503
lexington@willismusic.com or call 859.273.4063 859.525.6050
GREYMARE MUSIC WORKS 516 Main St. Murray, KY 42071 (270) 917-1564
BELLARMINE UNIVERSITY 2001 Newburg Rd, Louisville, KY 40205 Contact- Public Safety Office Kevin Thieneman kthieneman@bellarmine.edu. 7:00 am to 3:00 pm call 502-272-7777
MOM’S MUSIC STORE 1900 Mellwood Ave, Louisville, KY 40206 Contact – Vince Minton or Jeff McNicol Vince@MomsMusic.com 502-897-3304
DOO WOP SHOP 1587 Bardstown Rd, Louisville, KY 40205 Contact- Store Manager John Metcalf or Bill Himbaugh johnmetcalf@doowop.com 502-456-5250
DANNY MAC’S PIZZA Mellwood Art Center 1860 Mellwood Ave #112, Louisville, KY 40206Owner- Dan McMahon call 502-890-6331
MERCURIO ‘S MUSIC AND RESTOBAR 2931 Richland Ave, Louisville, KY 40220 Elaine Hoffman-Hertweck or Matt Mercurio call 502-451-2237
NORTH CAROLINA LOCATIONS
WARREN WILSON COLLEGE Pew Learning Center & Ellison Library at 701 Warren Wilson Rd, Swannanoa, NC 28778 Mon – Thur: 8.30am-Midnight, Fri: 8.30am-5.00pm CLOSED SARURDAY, Sun: 3.00pm-10.00pm THEY WILL BE COLLECTING UNTIL MARCH 1
THE MUSIC STOP 2688 Lewisville Clemmons Rd. Clemmons NC 27012
The “B” STRING GUITAR SHOP 560 Trade St NW # 101, Winston-Salem, NC 27101
ACADEMY FOR THE ARTS 5 Oak St Asheville, NC 28801
WEST VIRGINIA LOCATIONS
RT 60 MUSIC CO. 60 Peyton St, Barbourville, WV 25504 Paul Callicoat info@Route60Music.com in partnership with Musicians Emergency Relief Fund of WV
THE PIDE PIPER MUSIC 301 RHL Blvd Charleston WV call 304-744-0500, hrs 10-7PM Mon-Sat
Warner Music School 174 North Lafayette Street, Lewisburg, WV, 24901 attn: Tonya Cook tscwms@gmail.com call 304-645-3353
OHIO LOCATIONS
QUEEN CITY Balladeers/LEO COFFEEHOUSE) contact Neil Harrell or Janice Alvarado alvaradojga@gmail.com
BUDDY ROGER’s Music 6891 Simpson Avenue Cincinnati, OH 45239
sales@buddyrogers.com or call 513.931.6780
WILLIS MUSIC West Chester 7850 Cox Rd. West Chester, OH 45069
westchester@willismusic.com or call 513.777.7474
WILLIS MUSIC Kenwood 8118 Montgomery Rd. Cincinnati, OH 45236
kenwood@willismusic.com or call 513.252.0445
WILLIS MUSIC Eastgate 4450 Eastgate South Dr. Cincinnati, OH 45245
eastgate@willismusic.com or call 513.752.6341
TENNESSEE LOCATIONS
WDVX/Knoxville Visitors Center301 S. Gay St., Knoxville, TN 37902. Phone 865-523-7263
ALL CRUZE FARM SHOPS in Knoxville, Sevierville, Morristown TN CLICK HERE for addresses
EAST TENNESSEE HISTORY CENTER 601 S Gay St Knoxville, TN 37902
AUGUST MUSE 518 E Elk Ave Ste C, Elizabethton/Johnson City, TN 37643 call 423-213-5702, email hello@theaugustmuse.com BEST DROP OFF TIMES Tues 11am-5PM or Sat 11am-3PM
WBCM FM Radio, 101 Country Music Way Bristol, TN/VA 24201 attN: Kris Truelsen ktruelsen@birthplaceofcountrymusic.org
HONALEE HOME CONCERTS (attn Perry Brake) 207 Stout St Tellico Plains, TN 37385
CHARLES HALL MUSEUM Building 2235 Cherohala Skyway Tellico Plains, TN 37385 email charleshallmuseum@hotmail.com or call and text Pam Mathews at 865-938-1243
WESTMINSTER PRESBYTARIAN (attn Jeff Kane YXT 303-916-9688) 2800 Trotwood Ave Columbia TN 38401
LEGENDS GUITAR SHOP 4259 US 411 MADISONVILLE TN 37354 Contact Neil Turpin call 423-887-6000
OTHER LOCATIONS
HABITAT FOR HUMANITY (attn Bill Hudson and Al Coffee) 3435 Melorose Ave NW, Roanoke VA 24017
MUSICMAKER ARTS CENTER of Southlake, 190 W. Ste Hwy 114, Suite F, Southlake, TX 76092 (Jennea Potter jennea@littlemusicmaker.com )