Letter from the SONAverse CEO

Dear SONAverse,

Checking in. Are you OK?

I live and work in Los Angeles and over the last six days, there has been a lot of checking in… from my friends and family outside of LA who are watching the news coverage in disbelief and horror, begging us to “leave now!”, from my friends in other, less-affected neighborhoods of LA asking “how is the smoke where you are? Do you need a place to evacuate to?” and from friends in my own neighborhood making sure we had power (half of the neighborhood lost power last Tuesday night which didn’t come back on until 3am Friday morning) and offering their homes as places to charge, shower, work, keep food cold, etc.

I’m doing constant check in’s as well. It seems like everyone who lives here knows many people who have lost everything. And Los Angeles, as a city of humans, has galvanized to respond in an immediate and heartfelt way. The damage… the different kinds of damages… are overwhelming. Physical losses, mental and emotional traumas, so soon after the losses and traumas of the pandemic, are hard to take in.

But what I’ve experienced in terms of the city of Los Angeles coming together has been beyond inspiring. It began right away with local communities: both virtual – text threads and social media pages and accounts; and actual – community centers, schools, gyms, non-profits, studios, stores – springing into action. So many people with doors left to open have opened them to those who suffered losses last week. Small circles of friends and neighbors connecting with other circles for help with pets, replacing instruments, providing temporary shelter and clothing… real small town stuff, in a place as huge and sprawling as LA.

Our SONA songwriter and composer community has rallied to help in typical run-to-the-problem style. Our board text thread became a virtual “phone-tree” of gofundme links, safe places to evacuate to, pets that needed shelter, studio gear that needed replacing. And we are about to relaunch The Songwriter Fund – our “by songwriters/for songwriters” program within The SONA Foundation, which will provide cash grants to songwriters and composers who have experienced loss due to the LA wildfires.

I also want to send love and gratitude to so many other music industry non-profits and communities who are meaningfully running-to-the-problem with helpful resources, support and information: MusicCares, Sweet Relief, BMAC, 100 Percenters, Jessie and Friends, that angel that started the music industry list, Guitar Center, and so many individuals who have risen to this challenging time.

Of course, the biggest heap of gratitude goes to our fire fighters and emergency workers – real life superheroes we’ve seen in action all week. Inspiring us and keeping us safe with their skill, bravery, tirelessness, selflessness… unbelievable. They have shown us the best of our city.

Our city. I still catch myself saying things like “back home” and meaning New York, which is where I’m from (and take lots of pride in being from), but now, particularly now, when I think of “our city,” I think of Los Angeles. So many of my friends and family “back home” see LA as a monolith and get the sense that it’s all in flames right now. It is not. Thanks to those firefighters, emergency workers and a vast protective infrastructure, there are many parts of LA that are safe, open and available to provide resources for friends and neighbors.

Granted we are still on alert. These next few days of wind advisories are scary and in light of what we saw last week, we can’t be too careful. So, we’ll continue to check in and ask “are you OK?” and we’ll continue to provide support and community.

Maybe one of the big lessons here is that we should all be doing that more often anyway.

With love,

Michelle Lewis
SONA and The SONA Foundation CEO

SONA EMERGENCY FIRE RELIEF

Help songwriters and composers affected by the current California Fires by donating now.

Songwriters and composers, be on the lookout on SONA and The SONA Foundation socials and email for more information about applying for an L.A. Fire Relief Grant from The SONA Foundation. Applications will be released this week.

Donate now at the SONA Foundation’s website.

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