Lauv Explores Music, Mental Health and Blue Thoughts

Long before social distancing and quarantine, we have been watching the downward trends in mental health and emotional soundness among every facet of society. It’s impossible to not ponder why, in an age of social media apps that are meant to bring us together, we are feeling more lonely now than ever before. However, now we have become intrinsically reliant on those apps, as for many of us, they ar the only way to connect to community during a mandated time of isolation.

One thing that undoubtedly does bring us together is music. Whether you are a devoted lover of a specific genre, love the technical challenge of playing an instrument, or belt out your best Idina Menzel impression while singing in the shower, we are all drawn to it in some capacity. There is something otherworldly that happens when we immerse ourselves in rhythm, melodies, and the shared life experiences that are expressed through lyrics.

Related article: Sound Up! Joey LaBeija 

So, if we know these things to be true, the fact that we are in a conditioned isolation for far longer than humans were ever meant to thrive, and that music bridges gaps and provides safety and comfort, how can we utilize the connectivity powers of social media to make those two worlds collide?

Lauv has discovered away.

Through Lauv’s Blue Boy Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded by the musician to de-stigmatize mental health issues and amplify positivity, a panel discussion will be held on Friday, May 1 centered around the conversation of how folks are using creative outlets to deal with social distancing.

Titled Breaking Modern Loneliness, a play on the musician’s recent single “Modern Loneliness,” the panel will feature Lauv alongside collaborators Alessia Cara, Anne-Marie, and Sofía Reyes and will be moderated by Michelle Carlson, Executive Director of Teen Line, a nonprofit, community-based organization helping troubled teenagers address their problems. Set to begin at 10 a.m. PST, it will be streaming live from the Blue Boy Foundation forum section titled My Blue Thoughts.

In alignment with Lauv’s overarching desire to connect with his fans and give them an outlet for catharsis and connection, My Blue Thoughts is a community space where folks can anonymously share what is on their mind. From relationship woes to family problems, even to addressing the fear of coming out, anyone over the age of 16 is encouraged to drop a note so we can all share the heavy burdens of life together.

Being known as an artist who shares extremely vulnerable and honest experiences through his lyrics, many fans feel a sense of relatability and trust in too expressing their vulnerabilities and difficulties in life and have helped shift the conversation around mental health. Through the Blue Boy Foundation, the organization has raised more than $150,000 in 2019 alone with intentions to distribute the funds to various mental health nonprofit organizations that are in need of support.

Whether it’s through music, writing, or conversation, we will continue to find ways to connect during this time and be stronger for it in the end.