Tag Archives: mental health awareness

BIRDSONG FOUNDATION’s 1st LIVE FUNDRAISING CONCERT IS A HUGE SUCCESS!

As the song says…”Oh, what a night”! I’m so pleased for my friend and colleague, Margaret Konopacki, who presented a fabulous showcase of singer/songwriters who live with mental health issues and/or substance use disorders for whom she created the nation-wide music charity, BIRDSONG FOUNDATION. Visit the website to see what it’s all about:  www.birdsongfoundation.com.  Last night, June 9th, at The Duke tavern and club, several of her artists performed original songs with the backing of The Long Black Cadillacs band, and the nearly-full house enjoyed  a night filled with blues, pop, hip-hop, folk and rock songs. I spoke briefly with Margaret just before the concert started…

Yes, her anticipation and excitement was palpable. Due to the sad loss of her talented singer/songwriter son, David Martin, four-and-a-half  years ago, she founded this supportive charity that records, publishes and promotes songs written by artists who struggle on a daily basis with mental health challenges. The show started off with Thomas Messenger, then Jordan Gow (see below) Tommy Messenger had a blast on stage with Earl Johnson and his band, the Long Black Cadillacs…as you can tell here.

and the delightfully spunky Ashley Bell had fun with her song, “Best Advice”…

Singer/songwriter PK shared his “Just Breathe” with the crowd (pictured below) accompanied by musician/music producer Bryant Didier who also sat in with the band….…and Jhmal King brought his unique hip-hop/blues song, “Never Settle”, to the stage and even got a couple of dancers up on the floor

Margaret was extremely touched when long-time friend and Nicolas Cage’s movie stand-in (wow, what a gig!) Marco Kyris showed up – he flew in all the way from London, UK, just for the concert.Big thank you to radio personality and podcaster Aaron Badgley who helped MC the night, shown here with Maggie on stage…At the end of the concert, Margaret was very moved when Jordan Gow sang the song her son, David, wrote for her shortly before he passed away….visit the Birdsong website to read the story behind the song and behind the Birdsong mission. Jordan was very emotional, too.Jordan’s mum and dad were there to support their talented son and we were grateful to them for running the door and taking the cover charges.Lots of kind and generous people showed up, including Andrew Cann who drove in from hundreds of miles away with a cheque for $500 he raised for Birdsong (bravo, sir) and we’d like to send out a big THANK YOU to venue manager Donna Riddell and her amazing staff who hosted the concert for Birdsong. https://theduketoronto.com/  Thanks also to Kerry Doole of FYI Music News for the great blurb – it’s great to receive media support.

Margaret had the entire show video taped for future sharing so follow Birdsong on Fcbk, Twtr and IG, all accounts linked on their website:  www.birdsongfoundation.com

MY BIRTHDAY WISH THIS YEAR IS FOR FRIENDS TO DONATE TO BIRDSONG NEW MUSIC FOUNDATION

I’ve never asked for anything at birthday time, you see it falls on Boxing Day (Dec.26) and even as a child none of my friends and school chums were around ‘coz in Australia, Christmas and Boxing Day mark the beginning of our summer holidays so everyone takes off. As an adult, I know that everyone is out at the Boxing Day sales and if anyone does remember my birthday, I usually get the left-over Christmas pressies that nobody wants (ugly socks or boxes of jellied fruit)…LOLThis year, just for a change, I hope you’ll consider donating to my little Facebook fundraiser for the newly registered national charity BIRDSONG NEW MUSIC FOUNDATION that benefits Canadian songwriters and musicians struggling with mental health issues and substance use disorder. It was founded by my longtime friend Margaret Konopacki who lost her beloved son, David Martin, to just such an illness. Please donate any amount, no matter how modest, here: https://www.facebook.com/donate/417109276761124/ 

You can learn more by visiting www.BirdsongFoundation.com and see how they support Canadian songwriters and musicians by publishing their songs (artists retain all copyrights) as well as recording their songs and creating videos for them – all fully funded! Their first compilation album, BIRDSONG: FIRST FLIGHT, comes out May 1st, 2022, and features artists from across the country.

Bravo, Margaret, and I hope my birthday fundraiser attracts new fans and supporters for Birdsong. With much love to Margaret and David (below)