Asking Alexandria fans find solidarity through HeartSupport
“I could tell that people really did care that people in similar situations to them felt seen. Fans felt seen.”
Recently, HeartSupport’s incredible new inflatable support wall made its way to an Asking Alexandria concert in Buffalo, New York to offer solidarity, storytelling, temporary tattoos, and ultimately hope to concert-goers.
Lu Montecalvo was on the ground, helping man the HeartSupport booth and interact with the dozens of fans who took time to stop by over the course of the night. Five courageous Asking Alexandria fans had opened up and asked for support . Quickly, the support wall was totally filled up with 20 replies.
“We weren’t even begging them to; we just offered.,” Lu explains. “Seeing how people genuinely cared about it and wanted to write on the wall was incredible. After the wall was filled, a bunch of people came up saying ‘oh my gosh, can I write on the wall?’ Then it was a really good way to refer people, to be like ‘oh, do you want to do this online for more people on a weekly basis?’ People were so happy to do it!”
Lu is referring to becoming an online replier, a role where she herself volunteers. Thousands of fans are paired with real-person, heart-centered encouragement every year. Seeing the wall in person made the potential impact incredibly clear to attendees.
“I have high levels of anxiety and panic attacks that have put me in the hospital multiple times this year. I have been trying to adjust to normal life again and this is the first big concert I am attending since I was last hospitalized.”
“You have strength and fortitude for just being here and for enduring what you have been through. I am so thankful that you are here and that you are who you are.
I have struggled with anxiety for so much of my life, and it has felt inescapable most days. Know that even when it feels hopeless, you are never alone, and I am so happy you are here and choosing to share your struggles. Hold fast, my friend — I believe in you.”
In addition to the real-life support wall, fans were given temporary tattoos featuring meaningful Asking Alexandria lyrics meant to support their mental health. One of those tattoos sparked Lu’s favorite moment of the night.
“I was doing a tattoo for a girl. She was telling me, ‘I so resonate with this lyric,’” Lu recalls. “I was telling her, ‘If you want to help, we’re all about people who resonate with lyrics.’ I explained to her what we were and shared the wall. There was one entry about someone who was struggling with addiction. This girl was telling me, ‘I’ve been in the same boat. I have this really long testimony about how I recovered as a drug addict. I’d lost everything.’ She really related to this person. Seeing how that was a really huge impact on her was wild.”
YET MY HEART STILL BEATS AND I FEEL SO ALIVE
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YET MY HEART STILL BEATS AND I FEEL SO ALIVE •
Other fans had similar moments of relating to everything that HeartSupport’s presence was about, whether they resonated more with the people offering help or with those still in the mental health trenches.
Because of the temporary tattoos, fans will continue to have reminders of the night of music and hope for days and weeks to come.
Lu continues, “The tattoos were a good segue into opening up conversations. One woman was talking about how she works part-time in a school to help kids. Mental health is a big part of her life. I got to see how people really do resonate with this.”
You can watch Lu’s full interview below.
If you want to be a part of sharing hope the way that Lu did, you can be trained to volunteer today. To fund more opportunities to bring mental health hope directly to where music fans need it the most, contribute to our 2025 Festival Fundraiser and heal the scene!
