Austin music nonprofit Swan Songs announces the 10th Annual Swan Songs Serenade gala, featuring Robert Earl Keen, to take place Sunday, October 25, 2020, at the Four Seasons Hotel Austin (98 San Jacinto Blvd, Austin, Texas 78701). Proceeds from the Swan Songs Serenade directly benefit Swan Songs in their mission to fulfill musical last wishes and support the music community. Swan Songs celebrates its 15th anniversary this year, and in this uncertain time, the organization aims to create a joyful and special Serenade. For more information, visit Swan Songs online.
2020 is Swan Songs' 15th anniversary as an organization and 10th annual gala event,
said Christine Albert, Swan Songs Founder & CEO. We know how lucky we are to have Robert Earl Keen join us to celebrate these milestones. At this moment in time, the power of our program is even more evident as we have shifted to virtual concerts for our recipients. Music can create connections even when you are not able to be in the same room. We are committed to creating a meaningful and festive Serenade, in person or virtually if we have to!
The 2020 Swan Songs Serenade will kick off with a silent auction, cocktails and VIP Sponsor Reception at 6 p.m., followed by a seated dinner, live auction, and concert with Robert Earl Keen and his band. Individual tickets are $150 each and will go on sale August 1, 2020. Stay tuned here for information about tickets, sponsorship opportunities, and auction items as it becomes available.
Swan Songs works with individuals who are terminally ill or nearing the end of life to bring comfort, joy and a respite from illness through music by organizing personalized concerts during this emotional and difficult time. The organization's core program is the fulfillment of musical last wishes. Swan Songs fulfills recipients' requests for a certain style of music or a specific musician to perform for them and their loved ones in a very intimate concert setting. The concerts are 30-40 minutes in length, are typically unplugged and provide an opportunity for a gathering with a focus on the music instead of the illness. These experiences are offered at no charge to the patient or family. Swan Songs recognizes that the talent and expertise of the participating musicians are an invaluable part of their success and, therefore, musicians are offered an honorarium for their time. In this way, Swan Songs fulfills its secondary mission—to support the health of the Austin area music community. With the vast diversity of requests from recipients, Swan Songs is fortunate to have access to the talented, professional, and experienced musicians of the Live Music Capital of the World
to fulfill even the most specialized musical last wish.
ABOUT SWAN SONGS
Swan Songs was officially established in 2005 as an Austin, Texas-based 501(c)(3) organization, although the concept was born in the early '90s when Austin musician Christine Albert (Swan Songs Founder & CEO) was asked to sing for a dying fan. The idea to bring music directly to someone facing the end of life resonated with Austin psychotherapist Gaea Logan (Swan Songs co-founder), and the two women began informally organizing the bedside concerts. The organization is committed to utilizing professional musicians whose expertise and experience are central to the success of the program. They recognize the importance of compensating these artists, therefore a nonprofit was created to raise the necessary funds to offer an honorarium, with no financial obligation on the part of the recipient or their family. The name Swan Songs was chosen, inspired in part by John Swann—the terminally ill man Christine first sang for in 1992.
Swan Songs has grown steadily and thoughtfully. The board of directors has expanded from the original six to the current 11 members. The concert number has grown from three in 2006 to an average of six requests per week this year. Swan Songs has worked with dozens of regional hospices and care facilities in a nine-county area, with a handful of concerts organized in Dallas, Houston and San Antonio. Outreach efforts were always carefully matched with the infrastructure in place at a particular time, so as not to overextend. The current staff is gracefully handling the rapidly-increasing number of requests.
As the program evolved, it became apparent that there was a more compelling desire to request a certain style of music than a specific artist, although some regional artists have been requested by name (Guy Forsyth, Eliza Gilkyson, Ruthie Foster, Jimmy LaFave, Bob Schneider, Ray Benson, Carolyn Wonderland, The Flatlanders and more). Swan Songs works diligently to match the style of music requested with the appropriate musician(s). The variety of requests over the years reflects how deep an individual's connection with music can be—based on a lifetime of memories, culture, heritage and geography. Whatever connects the recipient to those memories, their family, their joy—that is what Swan Songs brings.
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