Culture & Community | Downtown | Music | Arts & Culture | Youth Arts Journalism Initiative | Toad's Place
Nelani Mejias Photos.
Beneath the wide, glowing brim of a red hat, Aphrodite was taking it to church. As drums and guitar rolled out beneath her crooning voice, she gripped the mic, and looked out into the audience. “It’ll be okay,” she assured listeners in song, and for that moment, her words were exactly the balm that the week needed.
That sound came to Toad’s Place Wednesday night, as Musical Intervention celebrated a decade of joyful, collaborative, and explosively creative music making at 23 Temple St. and across New Haven. Since its beginnings in 2015, the space has grown to serve roughly 100 people in the 25 hours that it is open each week.
It operates primarily through funding from the state’s Department of Mental Health & Addiction Services (DHMAS) and the hard work of several volunteers. As it welcomes its 10th year, it is announcing the birth of a nonprofit organization, Musical Intervention Studios Inc. In its first iteration, the fledgling organization has a small board and has already launched its first fundraising appeal.
“Our long‐term vision includes strengthening programming, expanding access, and deepening partnerships that support sustainable, community-driven growth,” said Musical Intervention founder Adam Christoferson in a press release about the new venture. In addition to Christoferson, board members include Ellen Kannatt, Dr. Philip Corlett, Grady Bohen, Jeremiah Brown and Suzanne Christoferson.
“There is no medicine that compares to being on stage,” said artist and self-described Musical Intervention devotee Dom DeGennaro, who is part of a songwriting program at the space and plays in the group The Bangs. “It allows people to express themselves and provides an emotional release.”
Jeremiah Brown with Adam Christoferson.
It is the latest chapter in a mellifluous and sometimes bittersweet story of how the arts are often an integral part of healing. Ten years ago, musician and music therapist Christoferson founded Musical Intervention with the goal of creating an inclusive, safe and sober space where music could be both accessible and therapeutic. As a kid, he found the healing power of the arts while living with his grandmother, who would read poetry aloud to him over breakfast. He never forgot how those words, and the cadence of her voice, fortified his spirit.
“All I wanted to do was make music with people,” he said Wednesday. “Just open the door and see what was going to happen.”
When he received the keys to 23 Temple St. in 2015, the concept took off. Not only was he able to welcome people into a brick-and-mortar storefront where songwriting, production, and recording were all on the table—he was also able to create a safe and welcoming community, where those struggling with mental health issues, unemployment, and homelessness had a soft place to land. It was so successful, in fact, that he took the idea to New York City for a few weeks in 2017, for a wintertime pop-up in Greenwich Village.
Wednesday night, it was easy to see and hear why it’s been so successful. Red and white lights glowed from the stage to the center of the venue, as the steady one-two rhythm of drums, cowbells, chimes, and maracas created a whirlwind of music. From the drum circle, performances began to bloom onstage, until the whole building was full of sweet, smooth sound.
As she hopped on the mic, instrumentals at the ready around her, musical artist Aphrodite noted how important it is to have a safe space for music. When she began with a jazzy original titled “Come to Me,” written for and dedicated to her young grandson, the smooth groove of the bass melted around her voice.
“I’ll be your shelter from the storm,” she crooned as the drums pulsed as the foundation of the song.
Next there was musician and artist Jeremiah Brown, a longtime member of the Musical Intervention family who brought some Christmas spirit to the showcase. As he belted a moving rendition of “Mary, Did You Know?,” he showed off his skills on the keyboard, his voice bending theatrically around the prophetic message of the song. Minutes later, he rose from the keyboard to perform a lively cover of U2’s “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.” It showcased how he’d deepened his skills not just on the keyboard, but also on the guitar.
“I learned a new coping skill,” said Brown when reflecting on the guitar, which he had learned from Christoferson. In the crowd, his enthusiasm rubbed off: attendees such as Eric Triffin swayed to each song, with a style of dance he called “sculpture in motion.”
That was also true for artist Patrick Escandon, who performed as Flow Like Water. As he buzzed around the room and spoke in between songs, he urged the audience to “let your heart give you the answer, it’ll always give you the answer – trust that.”
His lively performance had a bouncing bassline, with Aphrodite adding melodic vocals as he sang. “You are everything you need, love is inside you,” their voices proclaimed as they wove in and out of each other. They jumped around the stage much like The Bangs who brought a punk rock vibe to the showcase.
After the showcase, there was an opportunity for those who attend the space’s Tuesday workshops to show off what they have been creating (in the past year alone, Musical Intervention has helped artists record over 200 pieces of music). Performers from the workshop got on stage and sang solos and duets, played guitar, keyboard, and were able to have the space and resources to do so.
It is a “vital part of recovery,” said performer Jake Weiss.
That’s the idea, Christoferson said before the end of the evening. For him, Musical Intervention is and has always been “part of a community, it’s not an isolated experience.” His hope, he said, is to “bridge the gap to keep doors open and free to all.”