Shawn Hagood is Keeping the Blues Alive

 A very special gift I received this past weekend from a good friend got me thinking about all of this even more. My gift giver is a very beautiful person that I’ve never had the pleasure of meeting in person. This amazing girl is someone who I met through my love of music. My discovery of the awesomeness of Dirty Heads led me to Wicked and Wylee, which in turn led me to an entire family of spectacular humans. I’m not sure what it is about Dirty Heads that brings out the best in so many people, but it’s probably the outpouring of love the band members themselves dish out on a daily basis. They constantly use their talents for good in as many places as they can ranging from donating meet and greet tickets for auctions to feed the hungry to even reaching out to individual fans in times of crisis to help lift them up. The guys also delve into their own projects on the side such as Shawn Hagood’s wonderful work with charity.

 Shawn is an international touring musician, and the owner at Hagood Media, LLC where he specializes in marketing, non-profit management, private music instruction, studio sessions, and touring. He graduated from Florida Atlantic University with a B.A. in Music Performance, and continually uses his musical gifts to enrich the lives of people everywhere he goes. Most people have seen Hagood tearing up the keyboards with Dirty Heads all over the country, but not only is he an integral part of the fantastic wicked and wylee phenomenon, but he is also one of the driving forces behind a wonderful foundation.  Shawn is President of  Keeping the Blues Alive, and as president Hagood strives each day to help search the country looking for schools who are in need of assistance with funding. Projects range from something as small as providing songbooks to as big as supplying funding for instruments.  His bio on their website states, “He believes that every little bit counts, and works to make sure that every dollar amount donated is allocated to music advocacy projects and the preservation of music education in schools across America.”

I love Keeping the Blues Alive not only for its charitable goals, but also because of my secret passion for blues that bloomed upon my first viewing of Adventures in Babysitting as a child. Nine times outta ten when I’m walking out of a bar the only thing going through my head is Albert Collins sultry voice saying, “Nobody gets outta this place without singing the blues,” and part of me hopes someone will stop me and make me. I’m madly in love with the blues, and obviously very fond of Dirty Heads, but regardless of my initial intentions for following that link shared by Hagood I’m happy that I did. Keeping the Blues Alive was originally founded by Joe Bonamassa, and promotes Blues Music by creating awareness about its impact on our culture. They fund scholarships and music education programs to counteract the lack of accessibility, priority and resources displayed in today’s education system. The foundation fuels the passion for music by funding programs and scholarships for students and teachers who possess the desire, but lack the resources or access to achieve their potential within the music industry. They spread the message that although music is an innate and accessible outlet for creativity, realizing your dreams in the music industry requires discipline, perseverance, and extreme dedication as well. Keeping the Blues Alive has been able to fund music projects affecting over 30,000 students since 2013 through the utilization of funds from generous corporate sponsor and donations from caring people all over the world.

Music plays such an important role in my life everyday, so I find it hard to believe that there are some that have to do without it. Music education is needed in every school system not just to satisfy an art requirement, but to give solace to the sad, an outlet for the mad, and to help glorify the joy. I’m thankful every day that I found Dirty Heads and all of the beautiful friends I’ve made through them. They have given me an outlet for my anger many times, they’ve helped me celebrate victories, and have always been there to lift me up when I am down. I’m beyond appreciative for their beautiful unifying melodies, and their ability to open the eyes of myself and others to those less fortunate in the world so we can help. I wish there were more people in this world like DH and Shawn Hagood to spread these beautiful missions of love. At least for now we can all be ever so thankful that with every stop on the tour and every note played that Shawn alongside Dirty Heads will create at least one more ally in the fight against this evil machine we call life.

Find out how you can help now at keepingthebluesalive.org and get updated info by following them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/KeepingTheBluesAlive

Follow Shawn Hagood on Facebook for more chances to hear his music and support his wonderful causes at www.facebook.com/ShawnHagoodMusic