On Friday, Sept. 20, No Worries Brewery in Hamden hosted the first-ever “21 Songwriters Festival” to raise money for Musical Intervention, a local charity based in New Haven for more than nine years.
The event consisted of 21 artists performing on three stages showcasing their original music. The brewery was packed with kids, dogs, families and music fans.
All donations and proceeds went to support local artist Adam Christoferson’s charity – Musical Intervention. It provides vulnerable members of the community with a free, open studio space to create music and work with other artists.
Musical Intervention offers a mobile studio that travels to different areas of New Haven to spread its mission and services. It works in clinical settings like drug rehabilitation programs and psychiatric hospitals, creating music therapy programs.
“For a lot of people, they have had no experience with music,” Chistoferson said. “All of a sudden, now they’re writing original music, then they start to sing it, then they start to learn an instrument and play it, and now they’ve become a songwriter in their own right.”.
Musical Intervention is a great resource that demonstrates the power of bringing people together through song.
“We’ve been downtown New Haven for nine years providing a space to all types of people…making sure there’s no barriers between a person’s desire to create music and be accepted into a community, and that’s why we offer it for free to the community,” Chirstoferson said.
The studio was created to provide a safe space where the community can collaborate and record their own music. Musical Intervention also serves as a sober environment that supports those who have struggled with trauma, mental health or homelessness. Additionally, it offers a space for those who simply need an outlet to decompress from the stresses of everyday life.
The studio currently partners with Yale University, the National Institute of Mental Health and the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services to provide further care and resources for those who struggle with mental health.
Christoferson realized the therapeutic effects of making music after turning to the craft himself following traumatic experiences. This sparked the idea of Musical Intervention, which had been forming in his head for several years before it came to life.
Prior to the organization’s establishment, Christopherson spent his time volunteering at inpatient-psychiatric hospitals, addiction treatment programs, school systems and homeless shelters.
He now pours his heart and soul into Musical Intervention and witnesses its effects on the community.
“You have people who are going through homelessness, jamming with retirees, jamming with interns from local universities, all types of people, all creeds, all walks of life, at different stages of their life, using music to communicate in a peaceful and safe way,” Christoferson said.
This event has been very impactful for him, creating a community among musicians and gaining a new platform of participants.
“I think that it’s a songwriting support group basically, we’re all coming together again as an opportunity to be encouraged to continue doing the thing that really makes us, us. So I’m grateful for that,” Christoferson said. “I really hope also to find people that might want to get involved with Musical Intervention and not just say it’s a great idea but maybe like people that are passionate about it and maybe want to get involved in some capacity.”
No Worries Brewery owner Kevin Mark was happy to support a charity that provides for the community of creatives. He believes events like this help to bring together this same community at his establishment.
“We’re definitely a brewery, but we’re all about music and sort of just bringing like-minded people together, sort of the yin and yang, which is cool and then bringing people who also enjoy that here as well,” Mark said. “It’s not over thought, it’s just we like to hang out with good people who also wanna do their thing.”
The brewery truly represented the community, with people from all backgrounds coming together to support local creatives and songwriters.
Spectator Amy Damaro also felt this sense of togetherness.
“I think it brings the community together in a great way. It’s great for the musicians to network, it’s great for the musicians to meet each other and see if they maybe want to collaborate with each other. It gets their music out,” Damaro said. “A lot of them don’t get to play their original music these days, so this is an event that they can do that. Not only can they do that but they can also tell the stories about why they wrote the songs.”
Through music and creativity, Hamden individuals were able to come together and raise money for a cause close to their hearts.
To see more of these performers, No Worries Brewery hosts open mic nights every Friday featuring many of the 21 songwriters.