McClatchy, applaud and grab some tissues for Grace Clark’s (‘18) concert, “Music for the Mind.” The concert was held on February 23rd in the Black Box Theater at 7pm. The night began with Grace Clark’s speech about her inspiration, music, and her senior project. Her main inspiration was her mother, who was a songwriter, musician, and singer. Her mother introduced her to other inspirations like Sara Bareilles and Marc Broussard. Grace also explained that she wrote her first song at nine years old.
Later in life, Grace was also inspired by her teachers and classes. She is involved in many types of activism, including feminism, civil rights, environmentalism, among others.
“Seeing people my age speak out and lead a movement for progress makes me think that I can participate,” according to Clark. Clark intended her concert to be open to the community and to McClatchy students.
Clark credits her inspiration for the mental health side of her project to her Mother. Her Mother was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and bipolar depression, and took her own life a year ago.
“I saw how much pain that stigma causes.” Clark explains. The concert was to raise awareness on the stigma and funds for mental health advocacy.
Grace’s “Music for the Mind” project included her writing and recording 5 new songs. All of her songs are available on her released EP, 17. The EP costs $5, with 100% of the profits going to the Steinberg Institute, a Sacramento-based group devoted to mental health advocacy. Later, Deborah Anderluh, a member from the Steinberg institute, talked about the group’s history and their appreciation for CKM. They were impressed with the senior projects they’d seen.
Each song has its story and inspiration. When you close your eyes, Clark’s lyrics paint a story along with the music. Again, tissues are a must when listening closely. After she finished, everyone headed over to the counter, where Clark was signing EPs. Of course, there was a line.
The audience was primarily upperclassmen, from Clark’s closest friends to classmates.