LIHUE — In times of suffering and grief, the sound of music can make all the difference in the world. A benefit concert for Kauai Hospice, “A Grateful Aloha,” is scheduled at 6 tonight at the Kauai Community College Performing
LIHUE — In times of suffering and grief, the sound of music can make all the difference in the world.
A benefit concert for Kauai Hospice, “A Grateful Aloha,” is scheduled at 6 tonight at the Kauai Community College Performing Arts Center .
Playing songs from the 60s and 70s, and hit songs from the band Grateful Dead, it’s a show that will bring back the good times for many of Kauai Hospice’s patients in need of some joy in their life.
“This concert really aligned with our transitional music program,” said Tricia Yamashita, operations director for Kauai Hospice. “We have more than 30 volunteers that regularly go into the homes of community members and hospice patients to play music and give their gift of music to loved ones who are seriously ill or dying to allow them to enjoy the music that they loved and listened to in their lifetime.”
The concert will feature the Terrapin All-Stars Grahame Lesh, Ross James, Scott Law, Jason Crosby and Alex Koford. It will also have special guests Bill Nershi and Keith Moseley of the String Cheese Incident, Tim Bluhm of the Mother Hips and renowned guitar player, Danny Kortchmar.
These performances will serve as an extension of the transitional music program, which serves as music therapy, Yamashita said.
“When people experience suffering, no matter what state of illness they may be in, the music has proven to bring relief to people while suffering without being medication driven,” she said.
When Michael Becker, president of Innovative Giving Entertainment, heard about this program it struck a chord with him, Yamashita said.
Becker caught wind of the program through a friend of his, Jennifer Glorioso, who is a hospice nurse. He has been a visitor of Kauai for over 20 years now.
“I’ve been looking for a way to give back to the community that has given so much to me and family,” Becker said.
Becker and his organization, which has “very broad and rich” contacts in the music industry, decided to put on a show for the Garden Isle.
“What we are funding, in part, is the transitional music program. The idea is that music is a way of transitioning people from this life to the next,” Becker said. “Kauai is full of people who really love this type of music. It’s not just the music of the Grateful Dead, but it’s a part of it.”
As of Thursday afternoon, only a few dozen tickets were left for sale, ranging from $35-85.
“Being able to provide this concert has allowed for us to connect with our patients in a new way to bring joy to them,” she said.
Info: kauaihospice.org
