On World Mental Health Day, RockHouse Live will host its second annual "Don’t Let Your Song Fade Away" mental health and suicide awareness concert.
Doors open at 4 p.m. on Saturday, October 10, and the music starts at 6 p.m. at RockHouse's Bartlett location, 5709 Raleigh Lagrange Road.
All proceeds will be donated to the
Tennessee chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Call
901-386-7222 for advance tickets or check out the
Facebook event page for more details. Tickets are $25 and include dinner and one alcoholic or non-alcoholic drink.
Seating restrictions and all other pandemic safety requirements will be observed.
Six Memphis-area musical acts will take the stage: Tom Skeemask, headfirst, Caging Elliot, Semantic Shift, Wewers, and the
Zach Bair Band.
Zach Bair is a Memphis-based restaurateur, musician, and entrepreneur who's best known for music technology innovations. He's the founder of RockHouse Live and said suicide is an issue that's close to the RockHouse team's heart. They lost a staff member to suicide two years ago.
"It really hit us hard," said Bair.
Afterwards, Bair partnered with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention to donate 20% of the profits from his “
Ordinary Girl” single and EP. He then began planning the 2019 "Don't Let Your Song Fade Away" concert.
"I thought it would be a great way to give back," he said.
Bair said that at Saturday's concert, attendees can expect a "great night of original music by awesome Memphis musicians and a touching tribute to Zena, our employee we lost two years ago [on] Aug 22, 2018."
An Epidemic in a Pandemic
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 132 people nationwide die by suicide each day. Suicide is currently the third leading cause of death among young people age 15 to 24, but the highest overall rate of suicide is among adults age 40 to 59.
In 2018, 10.7 million American adults seriously thought about suicide, 3.3 million made a plan, and 1.4 million attempted suicide.
Mental health symptoms, substance abuse, and suicides are all on the rise in the pandemic. Bair has some advice for people who may be considering ending their life in the pandemic.
"There are people here that love you and are here for. Don’t be afraid to reach out. And the national suicide hotline, as well as the
Memphis Crisis Center, are both amazing resources," he said.
"We all have struggles. Mental health is no different than physical health. Have empathy for your fellow human, and if you are suffering, don’t hesitate to reach out."
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