Nashville, TN (April 20, 2024)- Missouri-based charitable concert series, Freedom Jam USA, and its executive board members have merged under Nashville,TN-based nonprofit ‘Songs For Heroes’ as its new major annual fundraiser. The event will now be presented as ‘Songs For Heroes presents: Freedom Jam.’
Freedom Jam USA is a highly successful concert series that provided financial support to various veteran & first responder programs, including Veterans Community Project and Forgotten Coast K9 under its own 501(c)(3) organization (2020-2024). Previous headliners and performers included country music stars Jesse Keith Whitley, Alexandra Kay, Taylor Austin Dye, Morgan Myles, Brady Seals, Austin Dixon, and Audra McLaughlin, among many others. Planning is currently underway for the next Freedom Jam which is scheduled to make its return in 2025.
Songs For Heroes was initially planned as a one-time concert fundraiser for The Mid America Veterans Museum in O’Fallon, MO, in September of 2023 by Nashville & Texas-based Red River Nomad co-founders John Eason and Diana Darr, Museum rep Jim Higgins, and Freedom Jam founder Brian Judy. The inaugural event brought 8 Nashville songwriters and 16 O’Fallon Veterans together over the course of two days to turn their true life stories into songs through music therapy. The songwriter lineup consisted of previous Freedom Jam performers Molly Lovette and John Eason, and fellow artists Joel Jorgensen, Hal ODell, Tai Shan, Craig Hendricks, Collins Horton, and John J Kennedy.
The merger announcement comes just shortly after the first mini SFH session that served 4 additional Veterans over two days in O’Fallon on April 13th. With this new joint venture, the team is now working together to plan and host monthly duo writing sessions, 3 quarterly mini sessions with up to 4 songwriters and 8 veterans at a time, as well as the larger Songs For Heroes and Freedom Jam annual concerts across the U.S. In addition to the musical aspect of the program, they also plan to partner with local organizations that can provide resources for the families of the Heroes they serve.
“We’re thrilled to welcome the Freedom Jam team under the Songs For Heroes organization,” says Songs For Heroes COO, Diana Darr. “After speaking with their other Directors, Garry and George, we knew it would be a great fit. Together with Brian, they built up a great reputation for Freedom Jam and we’re excited for the opportunity to expand on our current offerings. Our first Songs For Heroes event last fall fostered life-long friendships between all involved. We’ve already had participants from the 2023 session travel to Nashville to visit with some of the artists and our SFH team. We’ve taken that to heart and want future participants to understand it’s about the experience and long-term relationships that are being built here, not just a one-time write or performance.”
Senior Director of Philanthropy, Garry Hodges, adds “Freedom Jam was created to help fund organizations that provide resources for our Veterans and first responders. Songs For Heroes is out there putting in the legwork day in and day out for our service members with PTSD and other ‘invisible scars’ through their music therapy program. With our joint efforts, we open up additional avenues to do even more for them. This is a great partnership and we’re excited to dive in.”
The combined board of directors now consists of: CEO-John Eason, COO- Diana Darr, Director of Corporate Sponsorships- Brian Judy, Special Initiatives Director- Joel Jorgensen, Secretary- Collins Horton, Director of Philanthropy (SFH & Freedom Jam)- Garry Hodges, Senior Director of Freedom Jam- George Davis, and Honorary Board Member- RET MSGT Joe V Gonzales (posthumous).
For more information about Songs For Heroes, video footage from SFH 2023, and ways to get involved with the organization, visit their website and social media pages: www.songsforheroes.org, Facebook & Instagram: @ songsforheroesusa
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Media Inquiries:
Diana Darr
COO- Songs For Heroes
346.363.9907
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On August 30, 2023, eight singer-songwriters traveled from Nashville, TN to O’Fallon, MO to spend two days meeting with Veterans & First Responders at The St. Charles County Veterans Museum. Their mission? To turn their true life stories into songs. On September 2, 2023 they performed those songs
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