The community was treated recently to an evening of music with Olivia Newton-John, Amy Sky and Beth Nielsen Chapman, from their album LIV ON, a collection of songs of hope and love, in addition to some of the artists’ best-known hit songs.
The invitational performance held April 27 at the Lobero Theatre was not a fundraiser, but rather a gift of love and music for emotional healing from the artists and the generosity of underwriting sponsors including The James S. Bower Foundation, Hutton Parker Foundation, The Natalie Orfalea Foundation, and Louise and Tim Casey.
Produced by Rod Lathim and Thomas Rollerson, and in partnership with Visiting Nurse & Hospice Care, the producers reached out to more than 20 of the organizations directly caring for the physical and emotional needs of victims to ensure they had the first opportunity to use tickets.
“The LIV ON project was conceived out of the desire to transform my grief into healing,” said Newton-John. “My sister, Rona had just died and I was suffering greatly from her sudden death. I’ve always turned to music to process my emotions and help heal my heart.
“Through this project Amy, Beth and I found that any time we shared a vulnerable part of us, we felt such an overwhelming feeling of kinship and relief … that we were not alone with our pain. We hope these songs that came from the depths of us, will offer a place of comfort to others.”
Rollerson and Lathim realized the community was in need of healing and coming together to support one another after recent disasters and from the added conflicts and stress we are experiencing on a national level.
“Tickets were complimentary, so not to add additional strain on our guests, and we did not want to make this a fundraiser, so not to take away from other important nonprofit benefits taking place, said Rollerson, founder of www.advocatesforallthingsgood.
“With this event, together with the artists and sponsors, we simply hoped to contribute to the vast collective effort by many incredible organizations and individuals that care about the long-term emotional recovery of our community,” Rollerson said.
Multiple Grammy Award-winner Newton-John, Grammy nominee Nielsen Chapman and SOCAN Award-winner Sky have joined vocal and songwriting talents to create LIV ON, a collaborative, newly recorded 11-song collection intended for those who wish to transcend loss while walking a journey toward new-found meaning and hope.
“The music created by Amy, Olivia, and Beth is truly inspirational and uplifting and we could not have picked a better musical offering for our community in this time of need,” Lathim said.
“These artists have joined their individual and collective talents and harnessed the power of music to soothe the soul and lighten the heart,” he said.
“A perfect example of the therapeutic impact of music reflected in the music therapy services offered by Visiting Nurse & Hospice Care, and by so many of the generous and compassionate artists in our community,” he said.
— Jennifer Zacharias for LIV ON Concert.