Swan Songs, the Austin music nonprofit dedicated to recognizing the power of music at the end of life, announces their 2025 Swan Songs Serenade, marking 20 years of connecting recipients to memories, their family, and their music. This year's Serenade will take place Sunday, Nov. 2, at Four Seasons Hotel Austin (98 San Jacinto Blvd, Austin, TX 78701), from 6 - 10 p.m., and will feature an intimate live performance by the Austin-based, GRAMMY® winning Los Lonely Boys with special guest Ray Benson, as well as a cocktail reception, a silent and live auction, and a seated dinner. Sponsorships and table sales are now available. On Friday, Aug. 15, individual tickets will be available here.
Swan Songs fulfills musical last wishes by arranging free, private concerts for individuals at the end of life, bringing their favorite style of music via local musicians to their home or care facility. Swan Songs honors and supports Austin's music community by compensating every performer. The Serenade serves as the organization's signature benefit and outreach event, honoring donors, participating musicians, and the Austin community. For more information, please visit www.swansongs.org or the event page here.
Celebrating Swan Songs' 20th anniversary speaks volumes about what a great fit this mission is for Austin, and how our community steps up to support causes that align with their values and passion,
said Christine Albert, Founder & CEO of Swan Songs. This year's Swan Songs Serenade is truly an expression of gratitude to, and celebration of, everyone who has been with us on this journey.
Marsha Milam and Ray Benson
Marsha Milam of Milam and Greene Whiskey, Marsha Milam Music and co-founder of the Austin Film Festival, and Ray Benson, GRAMMY® winning founder and frontman of Asleep at the Wheel, will serve as this year's event chairs. To inquire about sponsorship opportunities for the event or to donate to the silent and live auction, please contact.
About Swan Songs
Swan Songs was born from a series of powerful experiences in the early 1990s, when Austin musician Christine Albert (Swan Songs Founder & CEO) was invited to sing for individuals nearing the end of life. Inspired by these intimate moments, Christine and psychotherapist Gaea Logan began organizing bedside concerts through an early initiative called MusicAid. Support from collaborators like Craig Hella Johnson and the New Texas Festival (now Conspirare) helped to grow their venture. In 2005, Christine and a dedicated group of founding board members formally established Swan Songs as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, honoring the memory of John Swann, whose love of music helped inspire the organization's name and mission.
The organization is committed to utilizing professional musicians whose expertise and experience are central to the success of the program. They recognize the importance of compensating these artists, therefore a nonprofit was created to raise the necessary funds to offer an honorarium, with no financial obligation on the part of the recipient, their family, or the healthcare facility.
Today, Swan Songs receives an average of more than one concert request per day, with a full-time staff of five and a team of over 30 volunteer Concert Liaisons coordinating personalized performances for individuals in their final days. The organization anticipates a 33% uptick in concert requests over 2024, putting their projected number of concerts for 2025 at an impressive 500.
Establishing Swan Songs as a nonprofit was a leap of faith that a small group of us took together, but its growth has been a collective effort,
said Christine Albert. I am moved and humbled by the thousands of deeply meaningful and intimate musical moments our gifted Swan Songs musicians create, and our staff and volunteers facilitate with such care.
Swan Songs has worked with dozens of regional hospices and care facilities and compensated over 800 musicians through the years. As the program evolved, it became apparent that there was a more compelling desire to request a certain style of music than a specific artist, although some regional artists have been requested by name (Guy Forsyth, Eliza Gilkyson, Ruthie Foster, Jimmy LaFave, Bob Schneider, Ray Benson, Carolyn Wonderland, Marcia Ball, The Flatlanders and more).
Swan Songs works diligently to match the style of music requested with the appropriate musician(s). The variety of requests over the years reflects how deep an individual's connection with music can be – based on a lifetime of memories, culture, heritage and geography. Whatever connects the recipient to those memories, their family, their joy – that is what Swan Songs brings.
See additional information below or visit:
Swan Songs
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