Michael Ray Has Seen the Healing Power of Music With Musicians On Call
“You go in there for three and a half minutes and get to take somebody's mind away from something. It gives hope,” said Ray.
Music often resonates in a way no other words can, offering comfort or solace in a time of need. That’s why Musicians On Call (MOC)’s slogan simply reads, “Music Heals.”
The nonprofit brings music to those who need it most, patients within nationwide healthcare facilities, and allows them to have a moment to not think about what they are going through. Time spent with artists, like Michael Ray, gives patients the ability to heal their hearts and souls as they recover from their physical ailments.
This season, MOC has teamed up with Ray, as well as Florida Georgia Line, Peter Frampton, Lady Antebellum, Rodney Atkins, Echosmith, Michael Ray, Chase Rice, Mitchell Tenpenny, Caitlyn Smith and Bailey Bryan to help spread holiday cheer with the Music Heals merch campaign.
Michael Ray; Photo courtesy of Musicians On Call
Helping spread the word is incredible important to Ray, who has been working with the organization throughout all of 2018.
“You go in there for three-and-a-half minutes and get to take somebody’s mind away from something. It gives hope,” Ray told Sounds Like Nashville during a recent phone interview. “There’s so much stuff that music can do for the brain that words, just speaking can’t. So many other things can’t, but music gets through. That’s one of the many moments I’ve felt the healing power of music and what Musicians On Call does for the patients in the room, the kids. We go around to kids’ rooms battling all different things. For that little bit of time, we’re all together.”
Michael Ray; Photo credit: Dusty Barker/Musicians On Call
Ray was inspired to dive in after listening to Shane Tarleton, Senior Vice President, Creative Services at Warner Music Nashville, speak so fervently about MOC’s message.
“He was so passionate about Musicians On Call, he kept telling me about it. I was like, ‘Well man, I want to be a part of this.’”
He got the full vision of “Music Heals” after playing for victims of the Route 91 shooting. It was then that Ray truly understood the power of music in recovery.
Michael Ray; Photo credit: Dusty Barker/Musicians On Call
“I walked into this one guy’s room. I met his family in the lobby or the waiting room and then we went in and he wanted to hear ‘Think a Little Less,’ one of my songs. We were talking and I saw this big you know six-something athletic built guy, holding his girlfriend’s hand and tears coming down their eyes. He said, ‘I never thought I’d hear music again,’” recalled Ray. “I could tell from that moment, from the little bit of time that we shared, his mind went somewhere else for a second. It wasn’t about his recovery. It wasn’t about you know the pain or what was going on. He was just kind of holding his girlfriend’s hand, you could just kind of see the moment.”
Moments like that are exactly what inspires the Florida native to stay involved with the organization and has him encouraging others to do the same.
Michael Ray; Photo credit: Dusty Barker/Musicians On Call
“The feeling that I have every time I leave a hospital–it’s incredible. I’ve had rush days and off days, rush until you’re stuck in traffic, stuff is running late, I get there and it’s this big dose of like happy medicine when I leave. You just kind of feel it as you’re going through, just changes your whole day. Makes you so grateful for the things that you have and the blessings that we all have in our own life,” he concluded.
For those looking to get involved with Musicians on Call, visit their website for more information. Click HERE to check out the 2018 Music Heals campaign. For every $500 raised through the holiday campaign, MOC will be able to bring live music to a hospital room every week for a year.
