On Wednesday night (June 4), Billboard’s annual Country Power Players event, presented by Bud Light and held at Luke Combs‘s Category 10 venue in downtown Nashville, honored several of country music’s top artists and executives.
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The Country Power Players event also served as a call to action to aid those in the music community–whether artist, songwriter, musician, touring member, executive or other creative—who are struggling with mental health.
Country duo Brothers Osborne honored Music Health Alliance founder Tatum Allsep with the impact award, for her vision and leadership in launching and spearheading the organization with the mission of providing access to healthcare and mental health resources in order to help music professionals connect with medical and financial solutions.
In presenting Allsep with the impact award, Brothers Osborne’s John Osborne said, “Music Health Alliance’s services are available for free to anyone who has made a living in the music industry for three or more years and services are available to their spouses, partners and children as well. Most recently, MHA once again partnered with our label’s parent, Universal Music Group, in launching the music industry’s mental health fund. The fund provides a wide range of mental health services including personalized recommendations for mental health counselors and psychiatrists, including grants to help offset the costs to anyone in the music industry. That is huge by the way. We all could use that.”
Brothers Osborne also announced they were making a $10,000 donation to Music Health Alliance to help aid the organization’s work, in honor of Allsep, whom TJ called “Nashville’s own Mother Teresa.”
In taking the stage, Allsep thanked Brothers Osborne, saying, “Thank you for commitment to the music mind and thanks for being my friends since day one.”
Allsep recalled having the idea to launch Music Health Alliance 15 years ago, to help those in the music community to get the resources they need. “It is an honor to stand here with the people who shape the sound of our culture, and for the impact of this little engine that could, MHA, to be recognized is so meaningful. To all of you who have walked with us over the years… you’ve kept this mission alive and enabled us to grow from one person on the coffee shop tour in Nashville, to a team of 15 who’ve served 32,000 music people and helped save over $145 million. That’s not monopoly money, y’all. That’s real money.”
Allsep also thanked those on the Music Health Alliance team, saying, “You put boxing gloves on every day and you get in that ring, and you hear the impossible stories, you fight the broken systems, you wrestle and cut the red tape and still you approach every single music person who calls so openly, with open arms and [with] the most powerful medicine that exists on this planet and that’s hope. You are the reason that our mission has an impact.”
She thanked UMG, Brothers Osborne, Dierks Bentley, Marcus King, Sully Erna from Godsmack and others who have stepped up with funding and support, which has helped the organization provide more than 8,000 therapy sessions to help those in need.
“The music mind is filled with so much uninvited noise,” Allsep said. “It’s the noise of pressure, of income instability, of isolation. It is costing our industry big time. Look around. Everybody knows somebody that this has affected. It is costing us creatively, humanly, corporately.”
Allsep noted that in the last few months, Music Health Alliance has seen a 250% increase in requests for mental health support. “That’s not a statistic–that’s a screaming flare. It is an SOS call and we have got to do better,” Allsep said.
“I’m so serious when I say that MHA is equipped with the tools and the knowledge and the partners to help every artist, every songwriter, every crew member, everybody in our industry have access to the mental health that they deserve, but not just in a crisis. We’ve got a have a plan for the long haul. We know music heals. But even the healers need healing. To every label, every publisher, every platform, every artist, everybody who makes a living in this industry. Don’t just admire the mission and impact. Feel it. Fuel it. Fund it.”
She added, “We so desperately need you to stand with us, to nurture the noise. And then, we can truly heal the music.”
Others honored during the evening were Riley Green (honored with the groundbreaker award), Ella Langley (rising star award), BigXThaPlug (innovator award), Little Big Town (the inaugural Ben Vaughn song champion award) and Goldenvoice/AEG’s Stacy Vee (executive of the year).
Billboard continues highlighting the music of more artists this week, as Billboard Country Live launches on June 5, with two days of performances from a range of artists including Jake Worthington, Reyna Roberts, Max McNown, Graham Barham, Mitchell Tenpenny, Drew Baldridge, Alexandra Kay and Cooper Alan.
