Are you or a family member affected by mental health? The SIMS Foundation is a fantastic local organization helping local
musicians, music industry professionals, and their family members. Their annual fundraising event is coming up and it's a great opportunity to donate locally.
ABOUT: SIMS Foundation provides mental health and addiction recovery services to Austin musicians, music industry professionals, and their family members. Established in 1995, SIMS serves over 600 musicians, music industry professionals, and their family members each year with high-quality, hassle-free connection to over 90 therapists, psychiatrists, and substance use specialists in our community who take a reduced fee to work with SIMS clients. SIMS helps musicians develop healthy relationships, strong coping skills for stress, tools to tackle depression, and navigates those with substance use problems to a safe pathway to sobriety. Musicians are great spokespersons in the fight to defeat mental health stigma. Each musician who makes a call to SIMS to get help during a breakup or loss, who sees a SIMS provider to move sadness out of the way of their creativity, or who takes the hand of a clinician in support of their sobriety, is actively addressing their mental health and making our city stronger as a result.
Willie Nelson gets the credit for bringing the hippies and the rednecks together in Austin in the 1970's to play outlaw country and buck the Nashville sound. SIMS Foundation's annual Heart of the City event celebrates Austin's love of outlaw country and the Cosmic Cowboy with a night of live music, storytelling, and more. Returning for the second year to Emo's on Saturday, December 2, the event is hosted by singer-songwriter and Texas Music icon Bob Livingston, who is the founding member of The Lost Gonzo Band and the namesake of Michael Martin Murphy's 1973 hit song "Cosmic Cowboy." The song serves as a reference to the birth of outlaw country, also known as cosmic cowboy music. Besides a full tilt line up, event guests will be treated to the stories behind the music from the honky tonks and legendary venues like the Armadillo World Headquarters and Soap Creek Saloon. Hot off the "Harvey Can't Mess with Texas" benefit, where he played accordion with Paul Simon, the team tapped musician/composer/producer Michael Ramos to serve as Music Director for the event, curating this year's lineup. Scheduled talent for the evening includes fiddle player Carrie Rodriguez; , Mississippi born soul-rocker Charlie Mars; rockabilly and country music talents Rosie Flores and Monte Warden; White Denim frontman James Petralli; John Baumann, who has been on the radar of many country music fans after opening for Willie Nelson; the showstopping harmonies of Kelley Mickwee of The Tricias; Americana's gorgeous and gritty sound from Jonathan Terrell; co-founder and owner of the historic Armadillo World Headquarters, Eddie Wilson; plus many more. Martie Maguire, famed member of the Dixie Chicks and Courtyard Hounds will present a very special tribute to George Reiff. In addition, Music Director Ramos has gathered a who's who of musical talent for the House Band including guitarist David Grissom, drummer Conrad Choucroun, Warren Hood on violin, John Michael Schoepf on bass, and of course Michael Ramos playing the piano. A special segment of the show -- a pie social -- will offer three female country crooners singing their favorite Loretta Lynn songs, and a pie auction called by the boot scootin' bon vivant, Wild Bill Ogden. During the event, SIMS will also be giving a special Heart of the City award to a very deserving Austinite making a real difference to protect the health and vitality of the music industry in Austin. SIMS takes the theme of cosmic cowboy down to the roots and created a chain stitched embroidery poster for the event that pay homage to the Nudie suit popular with outlaw country stars like Graham Parsons and Dwight Yokum. Austin's own Kathie Sever and her Ft. Lonesome crew were tapped to sew the poster on blue jean fabric with just the right number of rhinestones to sparkle. The SIMS Foundation hosts its Heart of the City event each year to raise awareness and funds for mental health services for the Austin music family. The organization believes that supporting the emotional wellness of our music community contributes to a larger goal of realizing the full human potential of every member of our city. "It's common for our clients to say that 'SIMS saved my life,' but it's just as common to hear clients say that SIMS helped save my marriage, helped me get through some anxiety I had about my music career, or helped me find a therapist who takes my health insurance. We help clients connect to wide array of therapeutic services and help them navigate a sometimes difficult mental health system," said Heather Alden, Executive Director of SIMS Foundation. The evening begins at 7 pm with a VIP preview featuring BBQ bites and sips, with the show starting at 8:30 pm and a late night surprise at 10:30 pm. FULL TALENT LINE UP Bob Livingston Michael Ramos James Petralli David Grissom Conrad Choucroun Warren Hood John Michael Schoepf Kelley Mickwee John Baumann Charlie Mars Rosie Flores Carrie Rodriguez Monte Warden Corey Baum Jonathan Terrell Amber Digby Teri Joyce Andrea Magee And, Martie Maguire presents a special memorial tribute to George Reiff Tickets and sponsorship opportunities are currently available at http://simsfoundation.org/hear Tickets can be purchased here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/s |
