Haiti benefit at White Horse Black Mountain on Feb. 6, 7, will feature local musicians

Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

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The owners of the White Horse Black Mountain have pulled together a Haiti benefit on Feb. 6 and 7. Here’s how it came together:

Early next morning – Friday the 15th – we sent an email to our White Horse community asking for help. Within two minutes Nikki Talley responded, an Asheville singer/songwriter who has a direct personal connection to the Sasha Kramer, co- founder of www.OURSOIL.org  (Sustainable Organic Integrated Livelihoods), an “on-the-ground” agency begun in Haiti in 2006. Sasha Kramer recently wrote in a letter from Haiti:

“Many of you have asked how you can help in this moment of need and we are so thankful for your compassion and generosity, it is your support and the courage of our Haitian friends and colleagues that gives us the strength we need to keep going.  SOIL has decided to devote 100% of all donations that come in the next month to disaster relief.”

When Nikki told us about SOIL’s decision, that was the clincher.

Now it’s Saturday morning, 1/16.  We’ve had so much response from musicians who wished to be part of the benefit, people willing to volunteer, organize, do video presentations, and more, that the benefit has expanded into two days, February 6^th and 7^th!

We have a new website www.helphealhaitibenefit.com, (erected almost instantly by Don Talley of the Black Mountain Music Scene), a poster (volunteered by local graphic artist Nancy Mason), a location (White Horse Black Mountain), a Benefit Coordinator (Nikki Talley, well-known local singer/songwriter and activist), an “on-the-ground” organization to which to give the money (www.oursoil.org, and great musicians (David Holt, Akira Satake, Kat Williams, Sons of Ralph, Menage, Sirius B, Paco Shipp, and more to come).

 Those of us involved in this benefit feel as if we’re in the middle of “The Force” and hope to raise a great deal of money to assist the Haitians.  We are still looking for help!  Contact us at [email protected] if you are similarly called to this cause.”