NASHVILLE, Tenn. (December 8, 2022) - Combustion Music concluded its ninth annual Combustion Music Hope Town Music Festival this past weekend, raising over $250,000 for local charity partners Every Child Counts (ECC), Friends of the Environment (FRIENDS), and the Hope Town Volunteer Fire and Rescue (HFTR). Setting a new record in funds raised and overall attendance, the three-day event kicked off Friday at Hope Town Inn & Marina with a performance by multi-platinum selling artist Darius Rucker and actor Charles Esten, who sang original song “Hope Town” with co-writers Austin Goodloe and Combustion President, producer, and songwriter Chris Farren. Saturday’s writers round featured hit writers Brett James, Ashley Gorley, Chris DeStefano, Kendall Marvel, and Brett Tyler, who performed one of over 150 collective No. 1 songs at Firefly Sunset Resort. Rising writers and artists Goodloe, Payton Smith, Joybeth Taylor, Tom Whall, Jessica Farren, and Emily Earle offered a throughline of great music several times over the weekend, as did the ongoing live auction.
The festival is the brainchild of Farren, who has owned a home on the island for 20 years.
“Hope Town is an incredibly beautiful place, but it still has plenty of need,” said Farren. “I realized early on the importance of giving back to this place that has given us so much. It’s been a very trying time for the people of these islands since hurricane Dorian, but I'm super grateful to all of my friends and countless supporters for helping us aid in that recovery in some way.”
Monies raised will be directed specifically towards the rebuilding process from the devastating 2019 Hurricane Dorian, which ravaged the resilient and welcoming Hope Town community. Those interested in financially supporting the recovery can still donate via Venmo @hopetownmusicfest.
About Combustion Music:
Plain and simple…we help build hit songwriters. Combustion Music opened its doors in 2001 with the mission of providing a closely knit creative environment for up and coming songwriters to flourish and ultimately maximize the value of their copyrights. Twenty years and 100 #1 hits later, we continue to follow that very same path. There is no science to art… However, carefully nurtured and focused creative support combined with raw talent can lead to some extremely positive results. The consistency in our staff, the longevity of our writer relationships, and the agility to adapt quickly to an ever-changing music business environment has led, over these 20 years, to some very solid results. We pride ourselves on that consistency and longevity, as evidenced by a 17-year relationship with six-time country Songwriter of the Year Ashley Gorley; a 12-year run with six-time Christian Songwriter of the Year Matthew West; and both the writer and artist development of hit Sony artist Jameson Rodgers, recent Broken Bow Records/Combustion signee Kolby Cooper, and RCA/Combustion up-and-comer Corey Kent. Again and again, our songs and catalogs hold up over time as evidenced by our consistent growth and return, and our writers’ loyalty. Nashville is clearly at the center of country music, and while our catalog contains works from many genres, at our core we are a country music company. We work out of a house on Music Row built in the 1930’s, where music is coming out of every room….songwriters working on new compositions, and creatives listening and trying to find a suitable home for the latest demos. Music is everywhere. Nashville is a hot city, and country music is an even hotter genre…country is cool, youthful and vibrant, and playing and growing in every corner of the globe. Combustion Music stands at the forefront of companies strategically prepared to continue to capitalize on this worldwide growth. To learn more about Combustion Music, visit combustionmusic.com.
About The Hope Town Volunteer Fire and Rescue:
The Hope Town Volunteer Fire and Rescue (HFTR) is an all-volunteer fire and rescue department operating on the island of Elbow Cay in Abaco, Bahamas. The HTFR department is fully funded by donations from the community and visitors to the island. Though HTFR volunteers are located on Elbow Cay, they’re often called and respond to other outlying islands in Abaco. The HTFR works closely with Bahamas Air Sea Rescue Association - the only search and rescue operation in the Bahamas, made up entirely of volunteers. Local residents, second homeowners, and visitors will attest to the importance and professionalism of HTFR volunteers. To learn more about The Hope Town Volunteer Fire and Rescue, visit www.hopetownfirerescue.com.
About Friends of the Environment:
Founded in 1988, Friends of the Environment (FRIENDS) is an Abaco-based non-profit organization with a mission to preserve the environment of Abaco, The Bahamas through education, conservation, and research facilitation. Previous donations have assisted FRIENDS in providing over 23,000 environmental education experiences for local youths, the restoration of 180 acres of mangrove wetland, removal of over 1,400 pounds of trash from local beaches, the designation of five protected areas, and logistically facilitating research with the opening of the Frank Kenyon Research Centre in 2015. FRIENDS continues to recover following Hurricane Dorian, and the rebuilding of the destroyed Learning Centre will allow for the continuation of environmental education experiences and expansion of conservation projects. The Learning Centre will be a demonstration site for sustainable building practices that are storm resilient and a space that will be available as an emergency response center in the event of future disaster. To learn more about Friends of the Environment, visit www.friendsoftheenvironment.org.
About Every Child Counts:
Every Child Counts (ECC) is the only facility in Abaco that provides alternative education for children with learning, developmental or physical disabilities. Students are accepted to ECC regardless of financial, family or social restraints, and on average ECC has been able to serve 100 students per year. The curriculum of ECC focuses on character, functional academic skills, sensory integration, physical development, independent life skills, pre-vocational and employment skills, and self-expression through art, drama, music and dance. ECC believes that learning should be individualized, positive and student-centered, and that the ultimate goal of education is to develop a productive community member. To that end, learning is sequential, developmental, and functional to maximize each child’s ability to become a productive, successful and independent citizen. To learn more about Every Child Counts, visit www.everychildcountsabaco.org.
