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Discovering The Mental Health Benefits Of Old-Time Music Jams

Human beings have used music to do everything from soothe children to sleep or to fire up crowds during football games, but there are other benefits, too. Folkways Reporter Liz Pahl explored them during an old-time jam session in Athens, Ohio.

This story originally aired in the June 23, 2024 episode of Inside Appalachia.

This story is about the powerful connection between two unexpected things: old-time music and mental health.

You can see how the two come together in the middle of a cozy living room in Athens, Ohio, where the furniture has been moved out to create a circle for six musicians. This is the home of Hilarie and Mark Burhans, two seasoned old-time musicians who host a weekly jam session.

“I have been playing banjo for like 50 years,” says Hilarie Burhans. “I live in the town where I met my husband in high school and kind of had a crush on him because he played the fiddle. And I thought, ‘Well, you know I’ll play the banjo.’ But I quickly learned to love banjo for its own sake.”

For the past four years, the Burhans’ old-time jam session has been thriving. This particular group of musicians came together during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, and they have stayed together for a reason you may not think of immediately.

For their mental health.

Bass player Julie Elman explains why the jam session means so much to her.

“It’s community and it’s through music and it’s uplifting,” says Elman. “It’s just so amazing. And I think a lot about how we started this during the pandemic. It was a sanity saver, I think for all of us.”

It certainly has been for Caitlin Kraus, a musician who also happens to be a music therapist.

“There’s the social and community aspect that people have mentioned, but I think for me, too, it’s a time at the end of what’s usually a busy work day,” Kraus says. “It helps me to zone out and relax in a way … There’s the social connection, but also the sort of inner inward connection.”

Mark Burhans, Hilarie’s husband of 45 years and the cute fiddle player she fell in love with long ago, supports what his fellow musicians are saying.

“That’s a good point, the zoning out part of it is really good,” Mark Burhans says. “I can see how it would be really good for you. You deal with so much stress all day long at your job, and then to just sit there and [you] get to pound away at the guitar!”

One especially great thing about old-time jams, is you can be a beginner musician and be welcomed into the fold, adds Hilarie Burhans.

Pictures of musician family members and collected stringed instruments adorn the living room wall in the Burhans’ home.

*Photo Credit: Liz Pahl/West Virginia Public Broadcasting*

“Everybody who attends our jam is at a different sort of stage in their musical progression,” she says. “And one of the things that I love about the inclusivity of old-time music is that a bunch of people who are at different places in their musical progression can happily sit down together and play a tune.”

Music Therapist Cheyenne Mize’s work focuses on how community music making increases the well-being of individuals and groups. Mize explains some of the science behind the mental health benefits of jam sessions.

“There’s a wealth of research literature showing the benefits of active music making and group music making. And in that research, we see evidence of enhanced social and emotional and cognitive well-being, including improvements in concentration and memory; reports of improved mental health and confidence, everything to a sense of purpose and connectedness and even protection against stress and depression,” Mize says.

Even though we live in an age where technology allows us to easily be in touch, Mize points out that playing music together provides a more tangible type of connection.

“We’re learning a lot more about loneliness and the devastating effects that loneliness has on an individual, and, you know, we all need more opportunities to connect to other people,” she adds.

A creative piece of folk artwork serves as a warm welcome on the front porch of the Burhans’ home. This work was made by Indiana artist Sam Barlett, and features old-time musicians.

*Photo Credit: Liz Pahl/West Virginia Public Broadcasting*

Back at the jam session, Hilarie Burhans couldn’t agree more.

“I’m sure it’s improved my mental health to be involved in a weekly old-time jam session,” she says. “You can’t go through life alone. I think I’m happier and healthier. I think that playing music with other people is a lot more — I mean, it’s stress-reducing just to play on your own, but I think everybody needs to feel like they’re just sort of hooked up with other people.”

And that’s just what Monday nights at the Burhans feels like — welcomed arms of community and music.

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This story is part of the Inside Appalachia Folkways Reporting Project, a partnership with West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s Inside Appalachia.

The Folkways Reporting Project is made possible in part with support from Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies to the West Virginia Public Broadcasting Foundation. Subscribe to the podcast to hear more stories of Appalachian folklife, arts and culture.

Concord To Host Run For Heroes 5K Race

Organizers say the challenging and fun course was designed to honor the hard work and sacrifices endured by U.S. military personnel. The race proceeds will benefit veterans attending Concord University. The Concord Office of Veterans says this will help veterans attend college.

The Office of Veteran Services (OVS) at Concord University will be hosting the “Run For Heroes 5K Race” for the first time since 2014. The race will be held at Callaghan Stadium at Concord’s Athens campus.

At 9 a.m., there will be a moment of silence for fallen soldiers and injured veterans. Immediately after that, the race will begin.

“Student veterans are often non-traditional, juggling a family, work and school. The OVS assists veterans and their dependents in all facets of higher education, from application and academics to financial and social support,” George Williams, Concord’s Veterans Advocate, said.

Participants who pre-register will receive a discount and are guaranteed a race shirt.

Army Dad Makes It His Mission To Read To Son, Even When Away

Athens resident Darrell Fawley IV, who is 5-years-old and known by his family as Dary, almost always needs a book read to him by his dad before he can fall asleep at night.

“I like when we read a new book and then Dary summarizes the plot,” said Darrell Fawley III, Dary’s father. “It is dedicated time together without electronics or anything else that we get, and books tend to lead to other conversations and can be great segues into important discussions and life lessons.”

While reading to children is an integral part of many families, there’s a twist in the Fawley family: Darrell Fawley III is a commander in the U.S. Army with 21 years of service and four separate deployments under his belt.

Despite his changes in duty stations and deployments, Fawley III has managed to encourage the love of reading that Dary has and foster important emotional connections through United Through Reading, a non-profit organization created to bring military families together through the sharing of stories.

“It was founded by a Navy spouse who believed in the power of reading,” said Sally Ann Zoll, CEO of United Through Reading that was created in 1989. “She saw sailors leaving to deploy for six to eight months, and she worried about what little children would think of those sailors when they came home…would they remember them because they were gone for too long?”

What began as sailors recording themselves reading books on VHS tapes for their children to follow, it quickly grew into the organization today, which has more than 2 million military families nationwide participating.

“What we have found over the years that there are so many different levels and layers to this,” Zoll said. “We started hearing from the service members who were away who said, ‘Wow, this was great because I was able to step aside from my mission and go to a quiet place and sit down and select the book to read to my child…It made me feel like I was really doing something to support my family.’”

Darrell Fawley III discovered the program during a deployment to Afghanistan in 2012 and initially sent videos to his niece. When Fawley and his wife Lindsey had Dary, Fawley was able to bring the impact directly to his own family unit.

“Sometimes you can’t connect through video or telephone for days,” Fawley III said. “Having a recorded book allows for a continued connection. I deployed (back to Afghanistan) when Dary was less than 2-years old, so having something to connect him to his father was a great way to ensure he remembered me when I came home.”

Fawley III additionally utilized United Through Reading during a deployment to Poland in 2020.

Today, Fawley III is a professor of military science at Ohio University at Athens and Dary is a big brother to 1-year-old LillyAnne Fawley, who also is beginning to enjoy reading.

“Darrell and I love to read a variety of different books, so we knew reading would be a big part of our lives as parents,” Lindsey Fawley said. “It has been wonderful to see the connection that reading together has given them, and when Darrell has to be away, Dary loves being able to hear his dad’s voice and try to follow along in the books on the recording as dad reads. I think that it will become even more important as Dary becomes more of an independent reader and more times of family separation occur.”

Athens Becomes 13th W.Va. Municipality To Protect Employment, Housing Rights For LGBTQ Community

The town of Athens, in Mercer County, West Virginia has become the thirteenth municipality in the state to adopt a non-discrimination ordinace to protect employment and housing rights based on sexual orientation orientation or gender identity.

Members of the town council voted unanimously Tuesday night to approve the measure.

Councilwoman Rachel Porter explained what the vote means for her community.

“I think it really shows the type of town that Athens is — and that it wants to be accepting of all people.”

Fairness West Virginia, a non-profit advocacy group calling on equal rights for the gay and transgender community, applauded the passage of the ordinance.

“The people of Athens are stepping up to make sure their LGBTQ friends and neighbors can’t be fired or evicted just because of who they are or who they love,” Fairness West Virginia executive director Andrew Schneider said.

Athens approving the non-discrimination ordinance comes a year after Del. Eric Porterfield — a state lawmaker whose district includes the southern West Virginia town — made remarks that called LGBT groups terrorists and likened members of that community to the Ku Klux Klan.

A bill that would impose a statewide ban on discrimination against the LGBT community has been introduced West Virginia Legislature, but lawmakers have yet to take up the bill in committee.

“This is a huge win for our community. The lawmakers in Charleston should realize that if a small town in the heart of Del. Porterfield’s district is ready for fairness, the rest of the state is, too,” Schneider said.

In a news release, Fairness West Virginia said — with the addition of Athens approving the non-discrimination ordinance — 12% of the state’s population is protected by such legislation.

Listen: Johnny Staats & Robert Shafer on NPR's Mountain Stage

On this week’s encore broadcast of Mountain Stage, West Virginia super pickers Johnny Staats & Robert Shafer return with a new self-released record in tow titled Music from the Mountains, featuring this upbeat performance titled “El Cumbanchero.”

This week’s broadcast also features performances from Chely Wright, KT Tunstall, JD Hutchison and Realbilly Jive, and Mark Erelli, recorded on the campus of Ohio University in partnership with WOUB.

Find a station in your area and join us for Mountain Stage this weekend.

Like what you hear? Scroll back in the feed of the Mountain Stage podcast to episode #887 to hear the entire show.