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Austinites love philanthropy as much as we love our live music, and nothing encapsulates this uniquely “Austin” combination as well as Swan Songs. Swan Songs is an Austin-based nonprofit with a simple and powerful mission: to fulfill musical last wishes. Local musicians come together to perform for people who are nearing the end of their life, putting on an intimate concert in the individual’s home or care facility. Swan Songs was founded by singer-songwriter and musician Christine Albert, who found herself stepping into this role of Founder and CEO so that she could give back to her community.
“The mission goes straight to your heart,” says Shannon Moody, who joined the nonprofit as their Executive Director after a long and varied career in Austin’s nonprofit sector. The musical last wishes are diverse and meaningful, and Albert explains that Swan Songs has facilitated performances of Lithuanian accordion music, mariachi bands, Japanese music, and many, many more. “People’s musical affinity is so unique to who they are,” Albert says, and the opportunity for people on their deathbed to enjoy a significant concert helps them to connect with their history and essence in a powerful way.
Music brought Albert to Austin in 1982 after she established herself as a musician in Santa Fe. She was attracted to Austin because it was a city with a live music community, rather than a city geared exclusively towards the music business. “The stage is where bonds are created,” Albert explains, praising the inclusive, non-competitive nature of Austin’s music scene, from her fans to the other musicians she’s worked with.
Moody moved here to attend UT, and upon graduating, never left. She is proud to have raised Austinites and dedicated her career to philanthropy in our city. “Austin is so philanthropic,” Moody says, describing all of the ways that she was able to give back in her 20-year career, from volunteering to being on the Board of Directors and fulfilling executive roles in nonprofits across the city. As of 2022, there are 13,592 nonprofit organizations in the greater Austin metro area (including the cities of Austin, Georgetown, Round Rock, and San Marcos), and Moody believes that this encourages a sense of community and contributes to the “small-town” feeling that Austin maintains despite its growing population.
It was this community focus that gave Albert confidence that Swan Songs would find support in Austin. After a powerful experience performing for a dying fan, Albert founded Swan Songs in 2005. She began to fulfill “musical last wishes” for other people for free, asking her musician friends to volunteer their time, too. The start of the nonprofit was very organic, but eventually Albert wanted to formalize it so that she’d be able to compensate the musicians without asking the families or facilities to pay for the service. Albert describes a period of time when her husband was sick and her community helped them, and says that she was driven in part by a desire to give back — a recurring theme in many of the Vibe Austin stories. Swan Songs is now working on creating support systems and a nationwide communitys so that other cities can create their own chapters.
When Albert and Moody aren’t giving back to our community (or representing Texas for the Grammy’s board!) they’re enjoying all the great food and fun our city has to offer. Some of their favorites spots for a burger are:
And if they’re in the mood for soemthing else, they’d recommend:
Tune in to the episode to hear more stories about Albert’s journey as an Austin-based musician, Moody’s path throughout Austin’s wonderful non-profit scene, and a lot more great Austin trivia and recommendations!
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