Kyle Kellams: Melissa Carper spends much of her time away from home as a touring musician. Just this month, she wrapped up a European tour. Next month, she'll perform at the Richmond Folk Festival in Virginia. But she's thinking a lot about home these days. Home for others.
Earlier this year, she launched Natural State of Being, a nonprofit working to build tiny homes for people experiencing homelessness and struggling with mental health issues and addiction. A fundraiser for Natural State of Being will be hosted by Prairie Street Live in Fayetteville Saturday night with live music and food vendors.
While Melissa Carper was in Europe last week, two of the organizers of Saturday's fundraiser came to the Anthony and Susan Hoy News Studio — Hannah Withers and singer-songwriter Sophia Clark. Hannah is an officer of the nonprofit, and Sophia is volunteer coordinator. Hannah Withers says she's involved with Natural State of Being because of the work the group is trying to accomplish.
Hannah Withers: I was asked to join this organization, which is the brainchild of Melissa Carper, who is a northwest Arkansas, or previously was in northwest Arkansas, a musician. I met Melissa in my 20s. We were both in our 20sin Eureka Springs when we were both wild. She asked me to join this board. She is creating an organization that is looking for land to build tiny homes for people who do not have homes, and she's looking for a space for a recovery program, which includes a gardening program and some music recording and creative outlets. It's a very big project, and we're in the very beginning stages of it. We've had one fundraiser in Little Rock this spring, and this is our second fundraiser. I think we have a lot of issues in this area of mental health and support for people that don't all come from the same place that I do. And I think that it's a worthy cause. And I'm excited to see where it goes.
Kellams: What's going to happen at this event?
Sophia Clark: We're going to have live music. We're going to have live artists. We're going to have a food and clothing drive for multiple homeless shelters and day centers in the area, and a silent auction to raise funds as well.
Kellams: What does it take to organize this?
Clark: A lot, but also not really. I think everybody wants to help out and everybody wants to play a role in this because they know it's a good idea and they know that we need it. And so anyone that I've reached out to for help, they've been more than willing to chip in. And all the musicians are really excited for it. And whenever I put the word out about the silent auction, so many local businesses reached out about wanting to give me packages or artwork or whatever they have to help raise funds. So it's a lot. But also it's really refreshing to see everybody help out.
Kellams: Live music.
Clark: Yes.
Kellams: Including you.
Clark: Yes.
Kellams: Who else will we hear?
Clark: Bonnie Montgomery, Melissa Carper and Chucky Waggs and the Company of Rags.
Kellams: That's a heck of a lineup right there.
Withers: This is a great cause and a great organization that I believe in, but this is also going to be a great party.
Withers: Yes.
Kellams: The lineup for me is what — I'm there. Yeah. I mean, yeah, that's a heck of a lineup. Where will it be?
Withers: Prairie Street Live, right here in the neighborhood of KUAF. Walkable and bikeable from the trail. I think the weather's going to be beautiful, and I think it's the perfect day for some live music.
Kellams: What do you have to do? Do you preregister, prebuy tickets or can you show up?
Clark: You sure can buy presale tickets, $15. And at the door it's $20. And all funds go towards Natural State of Being.
Kellams: Hannah, you mentioned that this is the earliest stage of a very big project. You've been in early stages of big projects before.
Withers: I'm living in the early stages of something always. Yeah, absolutely.
Kellams: So when you start on this, is there a secret for other people to realize? Yeah, we're talking about a big project that may not come to fruition for a bit of time, but you have to do these things first.
Withers: Yeah, I think my Virgo brain breaks down the big-picture strategy of things. And this is one of the first steps. This is our step to engage our community, raise some funds so that larger organizations and people who may grant or want to help — city organizations or state organizations that may want to see this project through — will see that there is a lot of momentum behind it. And so we have a very long, many-step strategy for this organization. And I'm excited that Sophia volunteered to help be a part of the very beginning of it.
Kellams: Sophia, how did you get involved?
Clark: I wanted to do nonprofit work for a while, and I wasn't sure where to start, and I just kind of started small. I was doing a little singer-songwriter circle with my buddy Chucky Waggs in Eureka over the winter and started making it a food and clothing drive for Seven Hills here in Fayetteville. And the turnout was great. And I think I realized everyone wants to help out. Most people just don't know where to start. And so I was thinking, how can I make my music that tends to gather people, how can I make that a thing where people show up and help out the community?
I was just kind of looking for something. And then one day I was scrolling on Facebook and I saw that Melissa Carper was starting Natural State of Being, and I was like, what can I do to help her get this started? And so I just decided to shoot her a message and see if we could get people together for the cause. And that's just kind of how it came about.
Kellams: Did you know her beforehand?
Clark: I've been a huge fan for a while.
Kellams: This is pretty cool that it got set up. Did it get set up pretty quickly?
Withers: Yeah, it just happened. I think everything fell into place pretty easily and authentically. Prairie Street Live has been great to work with. And we've had a lot of people jump on board that want to help.
Kellams: Some people might not be able to go that night or are otherwise committed. Can they help Natural State of Being?
Withers: Yeah, Natural State of Being is a great website for them to land on to make a donation. They can buy a ticket ahead of time for $15 even if they can't come. That would be a great way to do a small part. There are multiple other ways to donate on that website. There will be T-shirts available at the event and after. And every penny counts and every click that they get on that website makes us more excited that we might be moving in the right direction.
Hannah Withers and Sophia Clark are helping organize Saturday night's fundraiser for the nonprofit Natural State of Being. It's being held at Prairie Street Live on Prairie Street in Fayetteville. Doors open Saturday night at 6. More information about tickets and the show can be found at Prairie Street Live. More about the organization itself can be discovered there.
Melissa Carper is the founder of Natural State of Being, as well as an accomplished musician and songwriter. In fact, this is one of my favorite songs of hers. It's from her 2021 album Daddy's Country Gold, the song Arkansas Hills.
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