What if your art could both heal your community & pay your bills? 

If you’re a musician or creative itching to drive real-world change without sacrificing your livelihood, this episode maps a path: how Music to Life evolved from a songwriting contest into a rigorous accelerator that helps artists design, fund, and measure community projects—so you can make change while making a living. 

• Learn how Music To Life helps musicians turn a community cause into a sustainable enterprise
• See real models you can adapt: Vanessa Lively’s Home Street Music built 500+ song circles, 230 sessions, & raised ~$200K serving unhoused neighbors in Austin.
• Learn about proven impact from Benny Esguerra’s mobile studio that measured violence reduction  to poet-healer Myles Bullen co-facilitating prison education to process tough emotions and build trust.

Tune in to hear strategies & stories that helped artists step off the stage and into community change—without abandoning the craft that got them there. 

Notable Mentions

People

• Liz Sunde – Co-founder and Executive Director of Music to Life, an organization empowering socially conscious musicians to become change agents in their communities .
• Bill Cleveland – Host of Art Is Change and Director of the Center for the Study of Art & Community, long-time advocate for artists as community leaders .
• Paul Stookey – Renowned singer-songwriter, member of the legendary folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary, and co-founder of Music to Life .
• Vanessa Lively – Austin-based singer-songwriter and founder of Home Street Music, a program using music circles to support people experiencing homelessness .
• Dick Crispo – Artist who co-created the longest indoor mural in the world at Soledad Prison, known for his community arts practice .
• Beny Esguerra – Toronto-based musician and educator, founder of the Mobile Studio Project using music to reduce gang violence through recording sessions .
• Myles Bullen – Indigenous poet/ rap artist from Maine, who collaborated with University of Maine Augusta faculty on prison-based education blending poetry and Holocaust studies .
• Barbara Schaffer Bacon – Arts leader and consultant, co-director of Animating Democracy at Americans for the Arts, key in helping Music to Life secure Mellon Foundation support .
• John Lewis – Late U.S. Congressman and civil rights icon, famous for urging people to make “good trouble” in the fight for justice .

Events

• Kerrville Folk Festival – Long-running Texas festival where Music to Life hosted a 10-year social justice songwriting contest, spotlighting emerging activist musicians .
• Ventura Music & Change Festival – A Music to Life program in California that brought artists together for masterclasses, performances, and program development .
• Music to Life Academy (Change-Maker Accelerator) – Six-month training and coaching program for musicians to build community-based social change initiatives .

Organizations

• Music to Life – National nonprofit co-founded by Paul Stookey and Liz Sunde, supporting musicians as social change leaders .
• Music to Life's Academy artists Spotify playlist : A compilation of MCA Academy Artists Music.
• Wheel it Studios - WHEEL IT STUDIOS is Beny Esguerra's 16-week hands-on mobile recording studio engaging musicians from Toronto's Jane and Finch community advancing music making & transcending cross-neighborhood tensions.
• Community First! Village – Innovative housing development for people emerging from chronic homelessness, partner site for Home Street Music .
• Bloomberg Media – Partnered with Music to Life on multimedia music-for-change projects .
• Recording Academy (Grammys) – Engaged in conversations with Music to Life about supporting socially conscious music initiatives .
• University of Maine Augusta – Partner institution for prison-based education projects integrating poetry and Holocaust studies .
• Soledad Prison (Correctional Training Facility) – California prison known for hosting the world’s longest indoor mural .
• Americans for the Arts / Animating Democracy – National service organization supporting arts-based civic engagement .
• Mellon Foundation – Provided critical funding to Music to Life through arts and democracy initiatives .

Publications

• Braiding Sweetgrass – Book by Robin Wall Kimmerer blending indigenous wisdom, botany, and ecological philosophy .
• Seabiscuit: An American Legend – Laura Hillenbrand’s best-selling biography of the Depression-era racehorse and its unlikely champions .

*****

Change the Story / Change the World is a podcast that chronicles the power of art and community transformation, providing a platform for activist artists to share their experiences and gain the skills and strategies they need to thrive as agents of social change.

Through compelling conversations with artist activists, artivists, and cultural organizers, the podcast explores how art and activism intersect to fuel cultural transformation and drive meaningful change. Guests discuss the challenges and triumphs of community arts, socially engaged art, and creative placemaking, offering insights into artist mentorship, building credibility, and communicating impact.

Episodes delve into the realities of artist isolation, burnout, and funding for artists, while celebrating the role of artists in residence and creative leadership in shaping a more just and inclusive world. Whether you’re an emerging or established artist for social justice, this podcast offers inspiration, practical advice, and a sense of solidarity in the journey toward art and social change.