Mind Blown Festival brings grassroots metal and mental health together in Glens Falls, New York
There’s something to be said for the impact of a big festival in the zipcode of a major city, with high-level production and massive crowds. But the truth is that sometimes it’s the small towns, the more rural areas that get overlooked, that need the music the most.
That was part of the idea that drove Andy French, longtime HeartSupport volunteer leader and metalhead, to help put together the first annual Mind Blown Festival in Glens Falls, New York.
“Glens Falls, it’s a very open community, very collaborative, very supportive of the arts and supporting of mental health,” Andy explains. “There are a lot of metalheads up here, heavy music listeners. A lot of people are in bands, a lot of people used to be in bands, a lot of people would like to see bands. But there was nothing up here; people had to drive up to Albany. Six of us were on the planning board. All of us were having those conversations. This was an idea, but it seemed like we needed to do something. So we did.”
Community and music take shape
The result was a festival that came together in just eight weeks’ time, featuring local bands like Seize Atlants, Uncle Frank Says No!, The Hauntings, Death Cult Pharmaceutical, Don Joker, The Grandstand Jockeys, and more. Glens Falls-area businesses rallied to support the event. And HeartSupport was selected as a nonprofit beneficiary and as a partner to be on the ground offering mental health help in real time.
Andy says, “With this festival focusing on mental health, that’s really where I played into the whole thing. It started generating conversations about mental health and the connection to heavy music. There’s a story in a local newspaper where I’ve got a picture of myself in a mosh pit! At the show, we did the HeartSupport activation. We did it like any other festival. But a lot of people around here had never heard of HeartSupport. So many people needed that kind of conversation.”
Andy’s referring to the inflatable Support Wall, an easily transportable fixture that gave festival attendees the chance to write their needs for support and then have peers respond in real time.
“One girl wrote that her father was dealing with cancer and she was struggling to keep her head up. Another fan wrote a support placard saying the she lost her father and her best friend to cancer. She just found out her grandma has cancer,” Andy recounts.
The festival attendee who wrote a response asked if she could meet the other girl who was struggling. With full permission, Andy connected the two. He watched them hug and cry as they talked and shared moments of deep solidarity, ultimately even exchanging numbers.
That wasn’t the only moment of impact he witnessed due to bringing HeartSupport to this grassroots festival.
“The same girl who gave that support came back later at night and had with her a guy wearing a ‘you are enough’ sweater,” Andy says. “I talked with them and told the guy that HeartSupport was founded by Jake Luhrs. His eyes went wide and said August Burns Red was his favorite band. After learning what we do at HeartSupport, he told me his brother is in a mental hospital after trying to kill himself.”
That confession opened the door for a moment so much bigger than the festival itself. Andy was able to share pieces of his own story that had led him to that moment, to HeartSupport, to helping launch Mind Blown.
“I shared my story of being in that spot, my hospitalization, how I hit my own rock bottom, but through the help of my friends, family and the community at HeartSupport I was able to rise out of the ashes like a phoenix to reclaim myself and now thrive in life. He tried hard to hold back his tears… we just looked at one another. My eyes telling him it will all be okay. His eyes looking back with pain, but with hope for his brother,” Andy concludes.
A history with HeartSupport
Indeed, Andy French’s solid standing in the mental health community has been hard-fought and won. He is a survivor of trauma ranging from a severe head injury, to losing both grandparents, to a painful divorce. But at every step of the way, HeartSupport has been a presence in his story.
It all started close to ten years ago when he volunteered at Warped Tour.
“I went to the volunteering sign-up that said ‘get in free, get in early, talk to people, make their day better.’ I reached out and showed up at the gate early. Nate came out, introduced himself, and took me in. I had an incredible day. I was really mindblown by the fact that I was listening to all these stories of people going through it, and despite these issues, there were stories of redemption and reclamation,” Andy recalls.
These days, Nate is the Executive Director of HeartSupport, and Andy leads Team Beacon — a community of core repliers who volunteers their time to respond to online comments left by those who are struggling. The community that Andy facilitated at Mind Blown was a natural extension of what he’s already been doing with Team Beacon.
Describing that one-of-a-kind community, Andy says, “We’re all brothers and sisters in the dark. We’re there for each other. We hang out, we listen to music, we jam, we talk about that music and what it means to us.”
It’s become a way for volunteers to give back to each other even as they heal the scene at large. Andy can easily recall times when that community has been there for him, as well as times when he’s participated in lifting others up. Team Beacon’s theme song is “Afterglow” by In Hearts Wake: “we are the stars that shine even in the darkest nights.”
HeartSupport at work
Andy’s involvement with HeartSupport ultimately propelled him to earning a Bachelor’s degree in psychology so that he could better understand the deep connection between mental health and music. He’s using that knowledge every day directly in the HeartSupport community, through events like Mind Blown, and even in his professional role at a software development firm. His commitment to bringing mental health conversations to the workplace led to his employer, the Access Foundation, naming HeartSupport their U.S. charity of the year. Andy is leading fundraising efforts now among a committee of his coworkers as well.
“I’m meeting once a week with a core team at my work, and I run it exactly like I run Team Beacon,” the advocate explains. “Honestly, everything that I’ve learned and developed through HeartSupport, interpersonal skills, listening, being there for people, helps me show up for my coworkers. It’s a catalyst for opening up. Yes, in a corporate workspace, it’s one of those grey areas where you have to decide what to talk about in the moment versus stepping outside if you will. But now with HeartSupport being a thing, these kinds of conversations are getting better. A lot of us are going through a lot of stress, uncertainty, and fear. HeartSupport is providing a platform for people to offload that and be there for each other, to be a team and raise each other up. I’m excited to see what builds.”
The reach of compassion and peer support
Andy French’s story is a clear example: everyone needs a helping hand, and there is always a way to offer that. Whether it’s at a massive show like Warped Tour, a scrappy start-up festival like Mind Blown, the comments sections on the internet, or at a global software corporation, there is a place for hearts to support each other and heal the scene.
“When I was going through my own thing, I was like, ‘why do i have to go through this?’” Andy admits. “But being four years removed from that, looking that guy at Mind Blown in the eye, it kind of made sense in a divine comedy way. I get it now.”
He continues, “HeartSupport has changed my life in innumerable ways. It motivated me to get my degree in psychology, which opened up the doors for so many things. I’ve been able to heal so many of those parts of me, especially after my rock bottom. I had zero confidence. I didn’t know who I was. If you asked me what I wanted to do, I’d be like, ‘I don’t know.’ I barely listened to music anymore. I was in a really dark place. But through the Team Beacon meetings, surrounded by people who genuinely care, sharing my stories in order to let people know that I’ve been there where they’re at? Sharing that has healed me immensely. It has helped me find my voice. It has helped me find my identity. It has helped me, in a large way, to find my purpose. That purpose is that interaction that I had with that guy, with every person at the festival. It’s that.”
If you feel that helping support others through their mental health struggles might be a part of your purpose as well, Andy is living proof that there are so many ways to get involved. You can consider donating, volunteering, or partnering your business today!
