The Sing Out Loud Festival makes a cultural impact on Northeast Florida, attracting hundreds of artists to about a dozen St. Augustine venues to entertain residents and visitors alike. Most of the performances are free, but the Saturday, Sept. 21 benefit concert at The Amp was sold out months in advance.
As part of the Sing Out Loud Festival, 2019 GRAMMY award-winning Country music star Kacey Musgraves headlined the Sing Out Loud Festival Benefit Concert, which raised $225,392.50 for two local charities – HorsePlay Therapy Center and the Green Hands Initiative for St. Johns County Public Schools.
The Sing Out Loud Festival, now in its fourth year, is Florida’s largest free music festival and benefit concert. Featuring 334 national, regional and local singers, musicians, comedians and poets, all performances are free and open to the public with the exception of the Sept. 21 benefit concert. Kacey Musgraves, this year’s benefit headliner, handpicked two beneficiaries from a list of local charities. Within 60 minutes of going on sale on March 15, tickets to the benefit concert sold out, resulting in over $225,000 raised for HorsePlay Therapy Center and the Green Hands Initiative for St. Johns County Public Schools. Musgraves presented donation checks of $112,696.25 to each organization prior to her taking the stage at the Amphitheatre.
HorsePlay Therapy Center is a not for profit pediatric therapy organization located in the heart of St. Augustine that specializes in serving children with special needs. HorsePlay Therapy is one of the few organizations in the southeast dedicated to providing physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy for children on horseback. The funds raised from the concert will provide scholarships and funding to build a covered arena so HorsePlay can provide therapy year-round. Watch HorsePlay Therapy Center talk about their mission and thank Kacey Musgraves online at youtu.be/_T_SPohatLk.
The Green Hands Initiative is committed reducing unnecessary waste and minimizing adverse impacts on cherished resources, while supporting and encouraging education and sustainability within the community. Proceeds raised for the Green Hands Initiative will go toward the purchase of filtered water refill stations for St. Johns County Public Schools. By providing filtered water refill stations and encouraging the use of reusable water bottles, students will learn about environmental responsibility and waste reduction.
The 2019 Sing Out Loud Festival wraps up this weekend with performances Friday, Saturday and Sunday at several venues. For more information, visit www.singoutloudfestival.com.
