Homelessness and Hunger
About the Artists
The talented artists involved have all generously lent their voices to this initiative. We encourage you to support them by visiting their websites and learning more about them. Here’s a bit of information on each artist as well a link to their website where you can find more information.
Angel Smythe – “Angel in Disguise”
When you look deep into the heart of Angel Smythe, you find a gifted woman of faith, passion, and conviction with an unforgettable name.
Her infectious personality and love for life draw people to her from all walks of life. Her love for music began at an early age, and she has shared her talent with thousands around the world.
More than talent, Angel has a big heart for encouraging and inspiring people by sharing her personal journey with others. She has graced the stages of some of the largest churches in America, yet also feels right at home sharing her music and message with children in Mexico or women in local prisons. Visit artist’s website…
Musicians for a Cause – “Help a Hero”
Musicians for a Cause engages songwriters with nonprofit organizations to create music that brings life to the causes they support. We provide songs that have a social impact by working with artists who want their work to have meaning.
This song is to honor all our homeless veterans. It was inspired by a TV news story about a homeless veteran in New York City. It talked about how veterans are looked upon as heroes when they return from war, but that the admiration, respect and appreciation soon fades and many find themselves homeless.
Veterans represent 20% to 25% of the homeless population in America and 40% of homeless men. Next time you see a homeless veteran please remember this song and do something to “help a hero” in return for all they have done for you.
Matt Commerce – “This Very Minute”
Matt Commerce is a Virginia-born singer/songwriter, now based in San Diego, CA. His sound blends acoustic folk/blues with a tropical twist. He is best known for his catchy melodies and laid-back style. The son of a musician and an artist, Matt was raised in a creative environment.
Whether tagging along to bluegrass jams with his father or watching his mother paint pictures, Matt’s imagination was always busy, and was often expressed by songs he made up.
As a child, Matt was frequently seen walking peacefully around his neighborhood, humming to rhythm of his own footsteps. Music always remained an important part of who Matt was, but as his body developed his focus shifted to competitive sports. It was not until a rugby injury in college that he decided to give his body a rest, and turn his energy and passion towards music. Visit artist’s website…
Johnny Neel – “Reach Out”
Johnny Neel is a Grammy award nominee recognized in the music world for his work with the Allman Brothers, Lonnie Mack and Gov’t Mule, among others.
In addition to his soulful vocals, harp, piano and B-3 proficiency, Johnny is an accomplished songwriter whose tunes have been recorded by the likes of the Allman Brothers, Joe Louis Walker, John Mayall, Irma Thomas, Ann Peebles, Marie Osmond, the Oak Ridge Boys, Travis Tritt, Montgomery Gentry and Delbert Mc Clinton.
Neel’s Allman Brothers Band tour led to a number one smash hit during the summer of 1990 as car radios across America blasted “Good Clean Fun”, from the Seven Turns Album, co-written by Neel with Allman and Betts. Visit artist’s website…
Jen Foster – “Let Me Give You My Coat”
Ever since I was a little girl, growing up in a suburban neighborhood in Houston, TX, I’ve always had a vivid imagination. Movie scenes played out in my head, and I was always in the leading role. I remember sneaking into my parents’ closets and putting on mismatched items of clothes and creating characters. The family dog, Spot, became my sidekick, and it seemed he needed a real, respectable name. So I called him Spot Raymond Foster.
I never lost that imagination. When I began playing guitar at age 8, music became the soundtrack for the movies in my head. I absorbed all the music I could, mostly from the radio and from the records my brothers played. I loved pop, rock, and singer/songwriter music. I was instantly attracted to catchy melodies, and by the time I wrote my first song at 16, I was a fan of thought-provoking lyrics. James Taylor, Joni Mitchell, Jackson Brown, and Bob Dylan were just some of the artists that inspired me.
I began winning talent contests at the Catholic all-girls high school I attended, and I decided I was going to be a rock star. (That imagination was still hard at work!). Visit artist’s website…
Mark Erelli – “Here and Now”
Discovered in an impromptu 3 am hotel room jam at a music conference when he was just 23, Erelli was finishing up a graduate degree in evolutionary biology when his self-titled debut was released in 1999.
He hit the ground running when he won the prestigious Kerrville New Folk contest, joining the ranks of past winners such as Lyle Lovett and Nanci Griffith.
With his sophomore release, Compass & Companion, Erelli embarked on a non-stop touring schedule, sharing the stage with the likes of Dave Alvin, John Hiatt, and Gillian Welch. Erelli’s albums spent weeks in the top ten of the Americana radio charts and garnered four Boston Music Award nominations. Visit artist’s website…
Terry Vital – “Ordinary Night”
Terry is a composer/lyricist and multi-instrumentalist, with guitar as her main instrument. Her 25-plus years in the advertising and broadcast environments combine with a Master’s Certificate in Songwriting from Berklee College of Music to give her unique insight into composing and producing commercial and brand music.
Her experience writing for the short form commercial format has been expanded to include original instrumental compositions for film and television soundtracks.
Although a musician all her life, she’s only recently shifted interest to also develop as a singer-songwriter. Her style falls mostly in the contemporary folk, folk/pop, adult contemporary, and singer-songwriter genres. Terry’s vocal delivery is pensive and authentic sounding giving pulse and breath to the characters she describes in her stories.
Both her singer-songwriter and instrumental works have earned licensing agreements including gigs for commercials, independent film, and US and Canadian television programs, documentaries and reality shows that air on networks including ABC, NBC, PBS, The Weather Channel, Planet X and Canadian Networks. Visit artist’s website…
Jim McKee – “Homeless Pianoman”
JIM MCKEE, is an artist and singer/songwriter from Cookstown, County Tyrone, Ireland. Better known for his acclaimed artwork, Jim is rapidly gaining the deep respect of fellow musicians and critics alike for his song-writing talents and moving live performances.
The former All-Ireland Boxing Champion has an original voice with plenty to say.
Jim was a member of the award-winning White Hare Band, which featured a high-energy traditional Irish music. The White Hare Band contributed on numerous BBC television and radio recordings and won the Danny Kyle Celtic Connections Award in Glasgow.
Jim’s original songs have been used as soundtracks for film productions and television documentaries. Visit artist’s website…
Charlie O’Hay – Photojournalist – “Everyone Has a Name“
When Charlie O’Hay started photographing Philadelphia’s streets two years ago, he wanted to reconnect with a city vastly different from the one he moved to in 1967 as a 5-year-old boy.
O’Hay thought viewing Philadelphia through a camera lens would help reacquaint him. But what began as a recording of the city’s transforming architecture soon evolved into a portrait of one particular urban element: the homeless.
“I’ll ask them, ‘How’s life? Are the cops hassling you?'” O’Hay says. “Some are travelers, just passing through. Then there are others who’ve been in the system a long, long time. And everything in-between.” His pictures and interviews are published on Flikr in a project called Everyone Has a Name. Visit artist’s website…