New England musicians to rock Tupelo for second BreatheFest

Published: Tuesday, November 3, 2009

IF YOU GO

Breathe New Hampshire to host the second annual BreatheFest concert.

WHEN: Thursday, Nov. 19, from 7-9:30 p.m.

WHERE: Tupelo Music Hall, 2 Young Road, Londonderry.

COST: Tickets are $20, with the proceeds benefiting the New Hampshire Youth Network. Tickets can be purchased by visiting www.tupelo hall.com or calling 437-5100.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Visit www.breathenh.org/breathefest.

The average adult takes between 18,000 and 26,000 breaths every 24 hours. That translates into almost 35 pounds of air every single day. While many of us don’t routinely think about the quality of air entering our bodies daily, Breathe New Hampshire, the state’s oldest nonprofit voluntary health agency, does.

On Thursday, Nov. 19, Tupelo Music Hall in Londonderry will host the second annual BreatheFest. While proceeds benefit Breathe New Hampshire, Breathe-Fest organizers are hoping that this year’s show and raffle will bring in more than the $2,000 raised last year to help the New Hampshire Youth Network.

The Youth Network is made up of 30 youths, ages 11-18, who provide young people across the state with the skills and information they need to collectively raise their voices and understand that they can make changes with the aspect to healthy breathing.

This year, Adam Ezra Group, Rockspring and Dale Reynolds, three of New England’s homegrown musical acts, plan on rocking the house.

Joan Tognacci runs the box office at Tupelo and describes the venue as “very intimate. The sound is wonderful, and it has a really good vibe to it. I’ve never been anywhere else that’s like Tupelo.”

Scott Hayward, owner and manager of Tupelo Music Hall, is expecting a great turnout this year.

“It’s nice to have a venue that we can use to help support a great cause like this,” he said.

The opening song, performed by Dale Reynolds, is titled “Places in My Mind” and was chosen for the deep, relaxing breath he took before he started recording the song in his very first studio effort. His producer chose to keep the breath recorded on the track.

This is Reynolds’ second year playing BreatheFest, and he is also personally affected by losing a close friend to lung disease.

“These folks have saved lives by raising air quality issues and standards and assisting folks afflicted by lung disease,” Reynolds said. “I’m honored to lend my voice to their cause.”

The musical acts also donate their performance time to BreatheFest.

Adam Ezra Group is BreatheFest’s feature band. The group makes it a point to donate 25 percent of their tour schedule to community activism efforts like BreatheFest. Adam Ezra, the lead vocalist and guitarist, has also been personally affected by lung disease after his grandmother lost her battle.

“I’m excited about the way Breathe New Hampshire is going about inspiring the community and creating change,” Ezra said. “People are trying to build and inspire communities. It’s something we’re excited to support.”

More than 200 active volunteer staff provide technical assistance and resources to many of the medical professionals of New Hampshire. Along with providing tobacco cessation training to communities with tobacco programs in hospitals, volunteers also make an effort to impact the lives of younger children.

With early youth education and prevention programs, Breathe New Hampshire is able to reach more than 1,000 children in Manchester’s elementary school system with a media literacy and tobacco prevention program.

“The way to have an involved society is to get people involved and understand that they can make a change early on,” Beth D’Ovidio, director of public relations and communications, said.

By advocating for government policies to keep breathing air healthy, D’Ovidio believes in early education.

They have also launched their most recent “Anti-Idling” campaign. You may have noticed signs hanging around your child’s school. The goal is to reduce emissions in the long line of idling cars and buses waiting to drop off or pick up children. The bus exhaust pipes are at the same breathing level of many elementary school children, and, over time, walking to and from idling buses can cause a strain on the healthy breathing abilities of children.

“We want to make turning off the car when you’re waiting in line as commonplace as putting on your seat belt,” D’Ovidio said.

The organization has seen a surge in volunteers over the past two years.

“The recent layoffs have left a lot of people with extra time to contribute to the community during their time off,” D’Ovidio said.

Vincent Kanhai-Singh, a Litchfield resident, has been a volunteer for Breathe New Hampshire since 2003. Kanhai-Singh also has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, a progressive lung condition that makes it hard to breathe. Volunteering with Breathe New Hampshire was something that made perfect sense.

“I have COPD and have learned how to live with it. I figured if I could take my experience and combine it with Breathe New Hampshire’s mission, then working hand in hand, we can help more people,” he said. “My goal is if I help one person whether they stop smoking or change their lifestyle to live with their sickness, then I’ve accomplished my goal.”

Tickets for BreatheFest cost $20. Visit www.tupelo hall.com or call 437-5100 for tickets.

Julianne Hanckel can be reached at 594-5833 or jhanckel@nashuatelegraph.com.