Sept. 15, 2025

Pipeman Interviews 1 Million Strong at Bourbon & Beyond 2025

https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-adventures-of-pipeman--941822/support for PERKS, BONUS Content & FREE GIVEWAYS! Bourbon & Beyond is the World’s Largest Bourbon, Food & Music Fest Bourbon & Beyond Kicked Off America’s 8 Biggest...

Show Notes
Transcript

Click Here to Subscribe to The Adventures of Pipeman for PERKS, BONUS Content & FREE GIVEWAYS!

Bourbon & Beyond is the World’s Largest Bourbon, Food & Music Fest

Bourbon & Beyond Kicked Off America’s 8 Biggest Days In Music on September 11-14 In Louisville, Kentucky

World’s Largest Bourbon, Food & Music Festival Featured Headliners The Lumineers, Benson Boone, Alabama Shakes (Thursday), Phish, Khruangbin, Joe Bonamassa (Friday), Sturgill “Johnny Blue Skies” Simpson, Jack White, Vance Joy (Saturday), Noah Kahan, Goo Goo Dolls, Megan Moroney (Sunday), Plus Dozens More Rock, Americana, Bluegrass And Alt Rock Artists Along With Elevated Bourbon & Culinary Experiences.

The seventh Bourbon & Beyond welcomed fans from over 50 states and around the globe and over 120 music artists on five stages to Louisville, Kentucky over the weekend. The World’s Largest Bourbon, Food & Music Festival was held from September 11-14 at the at Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville, Kentucky and featured an incredible music lineup of music legends and rising stars with headliners The Lumineers, Benson Boone and Alabama Shakes on Thursday; Phish, Khruangbin and Joe Bonamassa on Friday; Sturgill “Johnny Blue Skies” Simpson, Jack White and Vance Joy on Saturday; and Noah Kahan, Goo Goo Dolls and Megan Moroney on Sunday. The lineup also included Cage The Elephant, Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo, Collective Soul, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Iron & Wine, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, Switchfoot, Third Eye Blind, Ringo Starr & His All Star Band, Pixies, Lake Street Dive, Dashboard Confessional, Foreigner, Blues Traveler and many others.

This year, Bourbon & Beyond’s newly expanded footprint doubled the square footage of past layouts, and made greater use of the Kentucky Exposition Center’s infrastructure, creating a more comfortable and resilient experience for fans. In addition, all festival passes included FREE access to amusement rides inside Kentucky Kingdom.

This year’s festival was packed with unforgettable performances, surprise collaborations, and historic moments that will be remembered for years to come. Take some zany and serious journeys with The Pipeman aka Dean K. Piper, CST on The Adventures of Pipeman also known as Pipeman Radio syndicated globally “Where Who Knows And Anything Goes.”

Check out our segment Positively Pipeman dedicated to Business, Motivation, Spiritual, and Health & Wellness.

Check out our segment Pipeman in the Pit dedicated to Music, Artistry and Entertainment.

Would you like to be a sponsor of the show?
Would you like to have your business, products, services, merch, programs, books, music or any other professional or artistic endeavors promoted on the show?
Would you like interviewed as a professional or music guest on The Adventures of Pipeman, Positively Pipeman and/or Pipeman in the Pit?
Would you like to host your own Radio Show, Streaming TV Show, or Podcast?

Click Here to Subscribe for PERKS, BONUS Content & FREE GIVEWAYS!

Follow @pipemanradio on all socials & Pipeman Radio Requests & Info at www.linktr.ee/pipemanradio

Stream The Adventures of Pipeman daily & live Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays at 1PM ET on W4CY Radio & Talk 4 TV.

Download, Rate & Review the Podcast at The Adventures of Pipeman, Pipeman Radio, Talk 4 Media, iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, YouTube & All Podcast Apps.

WEBVTT

1
00:00:04.360 --> 00:00:10.240
Hi, you love done too? Yes, that's true for see

2
00:00:10.560 --> 00:00:22.719
why for you young, This.

3
00:00:22.920 --> 00:00:25.079
Is the Pipe Man here on the Adventures pipe Man

4
00:00:25.160 --> 00:00:26.879
W four Cy Radio, and I'm here.

5
00:00:26.760 --> 00:00:29.199
With Tommy Vajaka with one million Strong.

6
00:00:29.519 --> 00:00:32.119
Nice here at Bourbon and Beyond.

7
00:00:32.719 --> 00:00:35.079
That's right, see is go ahead to us.

8
00:00:35.200 --> 00:00:38.399
It is hot, it is it's so brutally hot.

9
00:00:38.799 --> 00:00:40.799
That's something happened to me in the last interview and

10
00:00:40.840 --> 00:00:43.520
has never happened to me in fifteen years, ten to

11
00:00:43.600 --> 00:00:49.320
twenty festivals a year. My recorder turned off from overheating

12
00:00:49.439 --> 00:00:53.439
in the middle of an interview. Oh, like, that's hot.

13
00:00:54.119 --> 00:00:58.200
That's never happened before. So we guys keep it protected now.

14
00:00:58.679 --> 00:01:01.560
I live in Florida. How's but it's so brutal in Kentucky.

15
00:01:01.679 --> 00:01:02.759
That's what I want though.

16
00:01:02.640 --> 00:01:04.439
That's right. Yeah, but you know what, it's a great

17
00:01:04.439 --> 00:01:06.519
time here Bourbon and Beyond, and this is now day

18
00:01:06.519 --> 00:01:09.719
two of what's set to be a really great weekend totally.

19
00:01:09.879 --> 00:01:13.079
And so tell the listeners who have never heard of

20
00:01:13.120 --> 00:01:16.439
you what your organization is and what your mission is.

21
00:01:16.640 --> 00:01:19.040
Yeah. So one million Strong is really a movement and

22
00:01:19.159 --> 00:01:24.000
it's cutting across fans and artists and the music industry.

23
00:01:24.719 --> 00:01:28.640
And really aiming to show that when it comes to

24
00:01:28.719 --> 00:01:30.560
our mental well being, one of the best things that

25
00:01:30.599 --> 00:01:34.200
we can seek out is human connection totally. And so

26
00:01:34.319 --> 00:01:37.079
what we're doing here actually both at Bourbon and Beyond

27
00:01:37.120 --> 00:01:40.159
and then Louder than Life the following weekend is setting

28
00:01:40.239 --> 00:01:44.000
up a really intentional space. It's our one million strong

29
00:01:44.120 --> 00:01:47.920
Wellness Experience on site, a beautiful tent where fans can

30
00:01:47.959 --> 00:01:51.239
come in and really just take a moment, catch their breath,

31
00:01:51.280 --> 00:01:54.200
but more importantly find a sense of belonging and community,

32
00:01:54.239 --> 00:01:57.040
because we recognize that even in a crowd it can

33
00:01:57.079 --> 00:02:00.079
sometimes feel lonely. We just we want to demonstrate mental

34
00:02:00.079 --> 00:02:03.280
health is really more accessible as a conversation than I

35
00:02:03.280 --> 00:02:04.599
think it's sometimes made out to be.

36
00:02:05.359 --> 00:02:07.920
Totally, And you made a good point there that made

37
00:02:07.959 --> 00:02:10.840
me think, because I'm one of those people, so I

38
00:02:10.919 --> 00:02:13.719
do what I do, so obviously I have a switch

39
00:02:13.800 --> 00:02:17.520
on of extrovert. But then there's sometimes I like being

40
00:02:17.560 --> 00:02:20.080
a loner too, like because you do stuff like this,

41
00:02:20.199 --> 00:02:23.000
you want to just shut down. So I got festivals

42
00:02:23.039 --> 00:02:24.800
like this, and while I'm done working, I'm out there

43
00:02:24.800 --> 00:02:25.400
in the crowd.

44
00:02:26.400 --> 00:02:27.800
I have two feelings.

45
00:02:28.360 --> 00:02:32.039
I'm here with my one hundred thousand closest friends hanging

46
00:02:32.080 --> 00:02:36.120
out and I'm all alone at the same time. So

47
00:02:36.560 --> 00:02:38.240
you hit a note when you said that, because there

48
00:02:38.280 --> 00:02:40.639
are times that I've been at a festival one hundred

49
00:02:40.680 --> 00:02:43.719
thousand people and felt lonely.

50
00:02:43.879 --> 00:02:46.000
You know what. So we think about this a lot

51
00:02:46.479 --> 00:02:49.879
when it comes to mental well being. It might seem

52
00:02:50.199 --> 00:02:53.000
maybe like a heavy topic to think about at a

53
00:02:53.080 --> 00:02:56.400
music festival, but to your point and what I just said,

54
00:02:56.680 --> 00:02:59.240
it's easy to feel alone, right. This is an amazing

55
00:02:59.280 --> 00:03:03.080
party and an amazing experience. It is transformative for anyone

56
00:03:03.159 --> 00:03:05.000
to be at this kind of event, and this is

57
00:03:05.000 --> 00:03:08.159
the power of music, sports and entertainment. But at the

58
00:03:08.240 --> 00:03:10.000
end of the day, when that's all over, you know,

59
00:03:10.039 --> 00:03:12.319
there can be this feeling of like what's next and

60
00:03:12.400 --> 00:03:14.520
how do I live my life now? Right? And so

61
00:03:15.240 --> 00:03:17.080
our goal really is to show that when it comes

62
00:03:17.120 --> 00:03:20.039
to mental well being, this is accessible. Yeah, I mean,

63
00:03:20.080 --> 00:03:22.560
this is something you can build anywhere. And so whether

64
00:03:22.599 --> 00:03:24.960
you step inside of our tent or whether you never

65
00:03:25.000 --> 00:03:26.800
see us and you're just out there on the fairgrounds,

66
00:03:26.879 --> 00:03:28.159
part of this is just how do you show up

67
00:03:28.199 --> 00:03:31.439
with other people around you and sharing this amazing experience

68
00:03:31.520 --> 00:03:33.000
together and really be present.

69
00:03:33.599 --> 00:03:38.240
Absolutely, And I've always said music's to best therapy, okay,

70
00:03:38.639 --> 00:03:41.439
And I've also said to your point of the togetherness

71
00:03:43.080 --> 00:03:45.759
with all the craziness in the world, which is causing

72
00:03:45.840 --> 00:03:49.560
a lot of mental illness, I think the solution is

73
00:03:50.080 --> 00:03:54.080
we should have one major music festival for the whole world,

74
00:03:54.240 --> 00:03:57.960
and they're all required to tend Because when at a

75
00:03:58.039 --> 00:04:02.680
Danny Wimmer festival, do you see people on different sides

76
00:04:03.599 --> 00:04:06.960
fighting with each other, attacking with each other, You don't.

77
00:04:07.199 --> 00:04:11.439
We're one big family and that's the way we could

78
00:04:11.520 --> 00:04:12.680
solve our world problems.

79
00:04:12.719 --> 00:04:13.680
That's my idea.

80
00:04:13.919 --> 00:04:17.800
Music, sports and entertainment are great uniters. And saw you

81
00:04:17.879 --> 00:04:20.399
said it well, and just to hit on this point,

82
00:04:20.519 --> 00:04:24.079
you're right. As a society, and particularly with the younger

83
00:04:24.079 --> 00:04:27.839
demographic gen Z, there's a really big sense of disconnect

84
00:04:27.839 --> 00:04:31.240
and isolation. We've seen this in our on site activations,

85
00:04:31.759 --> 00:04:34.160
and then the studies report this as well. Gen Z

86
00:04:34.399 --> 00:04:38.000
is silf reporting that they're one of the loneliest generations,

87
00:04:38.560 --> 00:04:41.519
and yet it's a generation that also says they crave

88
00:04:41.639 --> 00:04:44.519
human connection. Yeah, you know, it's interesting this experience that

89
00:04:44.560 --> 00:04:47.920
we've created here. It's an alcohol free space. People can

90
00:04:47.920 --> 00:04:50.480
come in and they can play all kinds of community games,

91
00:04:50.560 --> 00:04:54.040
take a photo and a photo booth. We've got temporary tattoos,

92
00:04:54.199 --> 00:04:56.959
a community wall where people can share just words of

93
00:04:57.000 --> 00:04:59.959
encouragement for one another. But the whole experience is really

94
00:05:00.040 --> 00:05:03.160
meant to demonstrate that earlier point we were just talking

95
00:05:03.199 --> 00:05:07.199
about whether you're here and maybe you're not feeling too

96
00:05:07.199 --> 00:05:09.639
well right, maybe you're actually having a really hard time

97
00:05:09.680 --> 00:05:11.480
in the middle of a festival or perhaps or not,

98
00:05:11.600 --> 00:05:13.160
but you get that kind of feeling of like, man,

99
00:05:13.279 --> 00:05:15.399
I'm in a crowd but also alone. We want this

100
00:05:15.480 --> 00:05:17.360
space to be an intentional place where you can come

101
00:05:17.399 --> 00:05:19.279
in and say, you know what, let me actually find

102
00:05:19.279 --> 00:05:22.680
that sense of connection. And so everything that we're doing

103
00:05:22.920 --> 00:05:26.079
in music, sports and entertainment with one million strong is

104
00:05:26.120 --> 00:05:28.519
really aimed at that point. How do we just show,

105
00:05:28.680 --> 00:05:31.199
not tell people that when it comes to mental well being,

106
00:05:31.279 --> 00:05:33.120
really human connection is one of the best things you

107
00:05:33.160 --> 00:05:33.480
can do.

108
00:05:33.600 --> 00:05:34.120
No doubt.

109
00:05:34.279 --> 00:05:37.439
And I love what you say about substance substance free

110
00:05:37.800 --> 00:05:41.600
because people tend to think that makes their mental health better,

111
00:05:42.000 --> 00:05:45.319
or they're using to medicate their mental health and it

112
00:05:45.399 --> 00:05:49.920
makes it worse. Like especially alcohols are depressive, and I

113
00:05:49.959 --> 00:05:53.120
think even the connection makes it worse worse. I think

114
00:05:53.199 --> 00:05:55.959
you become disconnected. You fig you're connected because of that

115
00:05:56.720 --> 00:06:02.160
false courage or whatever, but in all actuality, you're really not.

116
00:06:02.519 --> 00:06:04.319
Yeah, some of the folks who are here now, for

117
00:06:04.560 --> 00:06:06.920
we've been a bourbon and beyond. Just to zoom out,

118
00:06:06.959 --> 00:06:08.959
we've been here four years in a row. This is

119
00:06:08.959 --> 00:06:11.720
our fourth year, and in the years past we had

120
00:06:11.800 --> 00:06:15.800
more of an emphasis on substance use and recovery. But

121
00:06:15.879 --> 00:06:17.680
when you actually go back the onion there, what you

122
00:06:17.720 --> 00:06:19.360
see is that at the root of that, or at

123
00:06:19.360 --> 00:06:22.399
the root of any kind of mental well being challenges,

124
00:06:22.879 --> 00:06:26.079
is that feeling of isolation, is that feeling of disconnect.

125
00:06:26.160 --> 00:06:28.959
And so for us, we thought, how do we grow this,

126
00:06:29.120 --> 00:06:30.920
how do we expand this so that more people can

127
00:06:30.959 --> 00:06:33.199
feel welcome in this kind of space. We keep it

128
00:06:33.279 --> 00:06:36.600
substance free in honor of those who obviously are in recovery,

129
00:06:36.920 --> 00:06:38.839
but at the same time we want to make sure

130
00:06:38.879 --> 00:06:41.560
that we're addressing what's probably more of our root cause,

131
00:06:41.639 --> 00:06:43.399
right and sort of tapping into something that I think

132
00:06:43.480 --> 00:06:48.480
is more universal, which is that idea of finding belonging. Yeah,

133
00:06:48.519 --> 00:06:51.319
and look, life happens to all of us. There are

134
00:06:51.399 --> 00:06:53.519
all kinds of challenges people deal with. We can't predict

135
00:06:53.600 --> 00:06:56.879
what those are, and every person is extremely unique. But

136
00:06:57.040 --> 00:06:59.560
I think one of the most important takeaways that we

137
00:06:59.639 --> 00:07:02.920
believe at one million Strong is that rather than shy

138
00:07:03.000 --> 00:07:06.920
away from those challenges or feel ize disconnect yourself from

139
00:07:06.959 --> 00:07:08.759
the world to your point of sometimes there is a

140
00:07:08.759 --> 00:07:11.439
place where it might just feel good to go off

141
00:07:11.439 --> 00:07:15.279
by yourself. But rather than do that, how much better

142
00:07:15.360 --> 00:07:17.639
might it be if you say, let's actually go through

143
00:07:17.639 --> 00:07:20.800
these hard times together. Yeah, And I've had those moments

144
00:07:20.800 --> 00:07:22.560
where I feel like it's probably just going to be

145
00:07:22.560 --> 00:07:25.079
better to be alone right now. But every time that

146
00:07:25.120 --> 00:07:27.199
I've made the opposite choice to actually go be with

147
00:07:27.240 --> 00:07:30.000
someone else, I found that they've improved my mindset.

148
00:07:30.199 --> 00:07:30.319
Well.

149
00:07:30.360 --> 00:07:32.120
I think part of that too is it takes your

150
00:07:32.160 --> 00:07:34.920
mind off of it. When you're bought in solitude, you

151
00:07:35.079 --> 00:07:36.240
just focus on it.

152
00:07:36.360 --> 00:07:38.279
Yeah, right, what are you doing? You're living life. You're

153
00:07:38.279 --> 00:07:40.639
figuring out how do you find new adventures, how do

154
00:07:40.639 --> 00:07:43.800
you actually build meaningful relationships with people? And over time,

155
00:07:43.839 --> 00:07:46.040
what you find is in doing that, you're thinking less

156
00:07:46.079 --> 00:07:50.199
about yourself. Now your own personal needs those are foundational, right,

157
00:07:50.279 --> 00:07:52.279
you need to have those met. But at the end

158
00:07:52.279 --> 00:07:54.720
of the day, when it comes down to mental well being,

159
00:07:54.800 --> 00:07:57.680
being of service to others and being able to contribute

160
00:07:57.720 --> 00:07:59.399
to the lives of others is one of the best

161
00:07:59.439 --> 00:08:00.959
things that we can do. So, yeah, get out there

162
00:08:00.959 --> 00:08:03.120
in the world, right, Go be with people and figure

163
00:08:03.120 --> 00:08:04.879
out what kind of cool things you might spin up together.

164
00:08:05.079 --> 00:08:07.560
I think also to add to that, when you're connected

165
00:08:07.600 --> 00:08:09.680
to other people, first of all, you can find out

166
00:08:09.720 --> 00:08:12.240
why they feel the way they do instead of attacking

167
00:08:12.279 --> 00:08:15.759
them for feeling the way they do. And you could

168
00:08:15.759 --> 00:08:18.160
find out why you feel the way you do because

169
00:08:18.160 --> 00:08:20.360
you'll find people that feel the same way as you.

170
00:08:20.800 --> 00:08:23.399
Yeah, I think you're hitting on a really important point.

171
00:08:24.000 --> 00:08:27.160
When you actually lead with empathy and you lead with

172
00:08:27.439 --> 00:08:29.199
understanding and you want to get to know somebody a

173
00:08:29.240 --> 00:08:31.519
little bit better, what you find is you stop seeing

174
00:08:31.560 --> 00:08:33.960
people as broken. And this, I think is one of

175
00:08:34.000 --> 00:08:36.919
the challenges with the mental health debate. It's become such

176
00:08:36.960 --> 00:08:40.159
a heavy topic right where every alternative. I mean, if

177
00:08:40.200 --> 00:08:42.080
you ask people like how do you think about mental health?

178
00:08:42.120 --> 00:08:45.919
You'll often hear clinical approaches, things like therapy, right, and

179
00:08:45.960 --> 00:08:47.440
by the way, there's a place for all of that,

180
00:08:47.919 --> 00:08:51.960
But what gets lost in the process is seeing people

181
00:08:51.960 --> 00:08:55.519
as not broken but actually inherently strong, and then recognizing

182
00:08:55.559 --> 00:08:57.039
that we all go through hard times. What we just

183
00:08:57.039 --> 00:09:00.639
need is one another. That's the fundamental building from which

184
00:09:00.679 --> 00:09:03.679
everything else after. Right, let's build on that, But it's

185
00:09:03.679 --> 00:09:05.360
got to start with that human connection piece.

186
00:09:05.519 --> 00:09:08.320
And I'll even give a perfect example of something with

187
00:09:08.399 --> 00:09:11.320
me is like two years ago, Leary in life, I

188
00:09:11.320 --> 00:09:14.480
got a phone call mill of nite in the middle

189
00:09:14.519 --> 00:09:18.559
of the festival. My best Brosin is like thirteen passed away,

190
00:09:18.759 --> 00:09:21.279
Oh my gosh, and I had to leave the festival

191
00:09:21.279 --> 00:09:24.000
to go to a funeral. But I came back to

192
00:09:24.039 --> 00:09:28.799
the festival for one reason, one reason only, because that

193
00:09:29.000 --> 00:09:31.799
would help me through it. And like coming back was

194
00:09:31.840 --> 00:09:34.840
the best thing I could do because instead of sitting

195
00:09:34.840 --> 00:09:39.000
around feeling miserable, I was amongst all my friends, amongst

196
00:09:39.120 --> 00:09:43.320
music and an environment that made me just.

197
00:09:43.279 --> 00:09:47.240
For a little while escape, yeah and connect.

198
00:09:48.720 --> 00:09:51.759
So life happens, right, That's and thank you for sharing that.

199
00:09:51.960 --> 00:09:54.720
Here's my takeaway from what I hear you saying. There

200
00:09:54.720 --> 00:09:57.679
are plenty of people who might choose to bury themselves

201
00:09:58.000 --> 00:10:02.039
in all kinds in their work at home, but you

202
00:10:02.120 --> 00:10:04.320
choose to come back and be among people and there's

203
00:10:04.360 --> 00:10:07.799
some life giving energy that you get from that. Now,

204
00:10:07.799 --> 00:10:09.360
I don't know if you had shared with others what

205
00:10:09.399 --> 00:10:10.960
you had gone through at that moment. I don't know

206
00:10:11.120 --> 00:10:13.159
right how much of that you were open with others

207
00:10:13.200 --> 00:10:15.720
and allowed them to help you through that process. But

208
00:10:15.799 --> 00:10:18.960
sometimes you don't even have to, right, Right, Sometimes just

209
00:10:19.039 --> 00:10:20.919
being in the presence of other people and letting some

210
00:10:20.960 --> 00:10:22.519
of their energy and moods lift you up and see

211
00:10:22.559 --> 00:10:24.720
the optimism in life and recognize that there is a

212
00:10:24.759 --> 00:10:27.200
future gets you through some of the darkest times. And

213
00:10:27.240 --> 00:10:30.399
so man, that's a thanks for sharing that. That's great.

214
00:10:30.600 --> 00:10:32.960
Yeah, And it's exactly what you said. And I'll even

215
00:10:32.960 --> 00:10:35.720
add to it, is escaping your own head in a

216
00:10:35.799 --> 00:10:36.480
healthy way.

217
00:10:36.840 --> 00:10:37.240
Yeah.

218
00:10:37.360 --> 00:10:42.200
I stress healthy way, because there's plenty of unhealthy ways.

219
00:10:42.440 --> 00:10:45.519
Yeah. I mean, if we're actually gonna build a sense

220
00:10:45.559 --> 00:10:48.000
of resilience, and I think we need to when it

221
00:10:48.000 --> 00:10:52.480
comes to mental health, then we can't disassociate or hide

222
00:10:52.480 --> 00:10:53.440
from the hard times.

223
00:10:53.639 --> 00:10:56.720
Yeah, no doubt, because it's going to crop up at

224
00:10:56.720 --> 00:11:00.240
some point later. Yeah, the sooner you face it on

225
00:11:00.919 --> 00:11:03.200
the sooner you could get through it.

226
00:11:03.320 --> 00:11:05.919
Yeah. Now here you and I talking about this, right,

227
00:11:06.480 --> 00:11:09.039
and imagine if the whole world starts having this kind

228
00:11:09.080 --> 00:11:11.840
of dialogue. So in part, what one million Strong is

229
00:11:11.840 --> 00:11:15.320
doing is destigmatizing it the conversation. Yes, and a whole

230
00:11:15.320 --> 00:11:17.320
lot of other groups that probably are as well. Right,

231
00:11:17.399 --> 00:11:19.440
I think this is mental health thankfully has become more

232
00:11:19.440 --> 00:11:22.559
of a common topic these days in society. But there's

233
00:11:22.600 --> 00:11:26.639
a layer that's missing, and it's this layer. It's how

234
00:11:26.639 --> 00:11:28.919
do we shift the conversation to focus more on our

235
00:11:28.960 --> 00:11:32.679
relationship with one another, on the fact that our human

236
00:11:32.720 --> 00:11:35.919
connection is a fundamental building block and we can do

237
00:11:36.000 --> 00:11:38.519
that anywhere, no matter where we are. We don't need

238
00:11:38.559 --> 00:11:41.919
a clinical setting to start that process, and that when

239
00:11:41.960 --> 00:11:45.240
we do that, we're actually building resilience to our mental health.

240
00:11:45.279 --> 00:11:48.519
The hard things that are painful to go through actually

241
00:11:48.559 --> 00:11:51.120
make us stronger. That's what this is all about.

242
00:11:51.399 --> 00:11:53.240
And I want to get your viewpoint on this. I

243
00:11:53.240 --> 00:11:55.720
have my own viewpoint, but there's a big thing out there.

244
00:11:55.919 --> 00:12:00.240
That set is very popular now, especially because of social media,

245
00:12:00.879 --> 00:12:05.679
to block people that are like, you're going through something

246
00:12:05.840 --> 00:12:10.360
really bad and just block all the people in your

247
00:12:10.440 --> 00:12:15.360
life that are not contributing in a healthy way. And

248
00:12:15.440 --> 00:12:18.799
to me, I think that holds to what you're saying,

249
00:12:18.919 --> 00:12:24.759
is like, then you're just avoiding opposed to actually getting healthy.

250
00:12:25.120 --> 00:12:27.759
That's right. I can't stress this enough. I think it's

251
00:12:27.799 --> 00:12:31.000
really important to engage in conversation with people. I don't

252
00:12:31.039 --> 00:12:33.240
know that you can just close yourself off to every

253
00:12:33.279 --> 00:12:35.159
problematic thing we live in the world.

254
00:12:35.559 --> 00:12:38.799
Right, You're gonna have to deal with stuff that's.

255
00:12:38.720 --> 00:12:41.320
Happening, and you can't hide from it. Right, And back

256
00:12:41.360 --> 00:12:46.039
to that point about resilience, isn't this a skill strength

257
00:12:46.159 --> 00:12:48.480
that all of us should cultivate, all of us should build,

258
00:12:49.000 --> 00:12:52.799
because it doesn't matter what you've read today, It doesn't

259
00:12:52.799 --> 00:12:55.559
matter what your friend or some random person said to

260
00:12:55.600 --> 00:12:58.919
you today. You're gonna run into a variation of that tomorrow. Yes,

261
00:12:59.279 --> 00:13:01.720
And if you can't figure out how to build that

262
00:13:01.799 --> 00:13:07.120
resilience to navigate that difficulty, you're not actually improving any

263
00:13:07.159 --> 00:13:10.759
of your mental well being. You're just coveting something that's

264
00:13:10.960 --> 00:13:14.679
too sensitive, that needs it benefits from strength. Right. And

265
00:13:14.720 --> 00:13:16.720
then through that, I think you find that you were

266
00:13:16.720 --> 00:13:20.279
talking about this earlier, the shared humanity with people. So

267
00:13:20.440 --> 00:13:22.399
we might disagree on something, that's okay, I'm not going

268
00:13:22.440 --> 00:13:24.519
to hide from that. Let's find the shared humanity in

269
00:13:24.519 --> 00:13:27.399
one another. That's what human connection piece is all about.

270
00:13:27.279 --> 00:13:29.840
No doubt, and we see that in the world over

271
00:13:29.919 --> 00:13:34.399
the past several years. People aren't getting better or gain worse,

272
00:13:34.440 --> 00:13:36.679
but they think what they're doing is healthier.

273
00:13:36.840 --> 00:13:39.840
That's right. I would almost actually draw an analogy to

274
00:13:39.919 --> 00:13:42.399
this idea of when people say, I'm I'm just going

275
00:13:42.480 --> 00:13:44.320
to take a mental health day. Again. There's a time

276
00:13:44.360 --> 00:13:47.600
and place for it. But the challenge is are we

277
00:13:47.639 --> 00:13:49.759
doing that to actually rest and get back to one

278
00:13:49.799 --> 00:13:52.159
hundred percent or are we hiding from something? Are we

279
00:13:52.200 --> 00:13:54.440
shutting out the stressors in our life instead of trying

280
00:13:54.440 --> 00:13:55.399
to navigate them.

281
00:13:55.399 --> 00:13:56.440
Call number two.

282
00:13:57.000 --> 00:14:00.399
Yeah, and that goes along with the example I gave before.

283
00:14:00.440 --> 00:14:01.279
It's the same thing.

284
00:14:02.200 --> 00:14:04.759
You still have to deal with your issues and your

285
00:14:04.799 --> 00:14:09.440
problems and the problems in the world. It's not the

286
00:14:09.519 --> 00:14:13.039
things you can control, but what you can control is

287
00:14:13.039 --> 00:14:14.840
how you cope with those things.

288
00:14:14.919 --> 00:14:17.879
Yeah, and you know what everybody's going through something. How

289
00:14:17.879 --> 00:14:20.399
many times have you or I woken up thinking, Man,

290
00:14:20.399 --> 00:14:22.200
I've got these problems that no one else is dealing with.

291
00:14:22.519 --> 00:14:24.759
That's just not true. Everyone's dealing with them. And so

292
00:14:24.840 --> 00:14:27.039
I think the sooner that actually on an individual layer.

293
00:14:27.039 --> 00:14:29.919
We all recognize that we see ourselves not as broken,

294
00:14:30.440 --> 00:14:32.480
and I think that's a really important starting point, right, Yeah,

295
00:14:32.480 --> 00:14:34.519
that's sort of self respect to recognize, Hey, there's not

296
00:14:34.519 --> 00:14:37.360
a brokenness to me. I have some really unique strengths.

297
00:14:37.919 --> 00:14:41.519
And then it's that base that lets you grow and

298
00:14:41.519 --> 00:14:43.799
build that resilience. Man, that's one of the most powerful

299
00:14:43.799 --> 00:14:45.679
things we can do for our mental well being.

300
00:14:45.639 --> 00:14:46.159
No doubt.

301
00:14:46.240 --> 00:14:52.320
And again going to music festivals like Bourbon and Beyond. Okay,

302
00:14:52.600 --> 00:14:56.159
first of all, there's so many resources for mental health here,

303
00:14:58.039 --> 00:15:02.399
not just the vendors but just the people. But then

304
00:15:02.399 --> 00:15:04.879
there's another side of it. You look at artists. I

305
00:15:05.000 --> 00:15:07.480
get it too because I go and travel the world

306
00:15:07.600 --> 00:15:11.120
doing music festivals and people always look at my social

307
00:15:11.200 --> 00:15:14.519
media and like, oh, you're living the dream life. And

308
00:15:14.559 --> 00:15:17.120
they don't say it in an encouraging way. They say

309
00:15:17.120 --> 00:15:19.440
it in a I'm in a dark place and I'm

310
00:15:19.519 --> 00:15:22.840
jealous of you, whey, But they don't see the other

311
00:15:23.000 --> 00:15:28.039
side because it's not all dream and rainbows and sunshine,

312
00:15:28.440 --> 00:15:31.240
and we still have the same problems they do and

313
00:15:31.360 --> 00:15:35.399
may be worse and maybe less, but we all no

314
00:15:35.440 --> 00:15:38.120
matter what level in the world we're at or what

315
00:15:38.200 --> 00:15:38.600
we do.

316
00:15:39.200 --> 00:15:41.559
We all have certain mental issues.

317
00:15:41.799 --> 00:15:44.159
Yeah, I'll take you back to when one Million Strong

318
00:15:44.200 --> 00:15:46.720
first started four years ago. We began working with the

319
00:15:46.759 --> 00:15:49.120
team here at Danny Wimer Presents that puts on this

320
00:15:49.200 --> 00:15:51.759
incredible festival and Louder than Life and so many others

321
00:15:51.799 --> 00:15:54.559
around the country, and at the time, much like many

322
00:15:54.559 --> 00:15:57.879
other festivals around the country, the way in which people

323
00:15:57.960 --> 00:16:01.159
treated mental health or recovery is almost wait until that

324
00:16:01.200 --> 00:16:04.480
point of crisis. Yes, and so one of the things

325
00:16:04.519 --> 00:16:07.000
that the Danny Wimmer team and our team were able

326
00:16:07.039 --> 00:16:10.879
to do and really credit to any Whimer here is

327
00:16:11.960 --> 00:16:14.360
we asked, what happens if we flip that script? What

328
00:16:14.480 --> 00:16:17.759
happens if we start thinking about this more proactively and

329
00:16:17.879 --> 00:16:20.919
don't wait until a crisis, don't wait to see a

330
00:16:20.960 --> 00:16:23.159
moment when someone's really hurting, but actually try to figure

331
00:16:23.200 --> 00:16:25.120
out how to address it at the front end, when

332
00:16:25.120 --> 00:16:27.320
we can do something about it, when we can emphasize

333
00:16:27.399 --> 00:16:30.320
that strength piece, the human connection piece, more than hey,

334
00:16:30.360 --> 00:16:33.639
how do we cauterize the problem the bleeding so to speak? Right?

335
00:16:34.120 --> 00:16:36.759
And so four years ago we launched that one million

336
00:16:36.799 --> 00:16:40.000
Strong space. The turnout has been incredible every single year,

337
00:16:40.600 --> 00:16:43.039
the fan feedback really exciting. And then we've done this

338
00:16:43.159 --> 00:16:47.000
across music festivals around the country and we've partnered with

339
00:16:47.279 --> 00:16:51.399
artists as well. And so last year Nico Moon, one

340
00:16:51.399 --> 00:16:55.679
of the really phenomenal Nashville artist was performing here on

341
00:16:55.720 --> 00:16:58.320
the main stage and right after his set stop by

342
00:16:58.360 --> 00:17:00.399
the one million Strong ten and spent I don't know,

343
00:17:00.440 --> 00:17:03.440
probably well over an hour wow, just meeting and greeting fans.

344
00:17:03.440 --> 00:17:06.680
And what's powerful about Nico, because you find these kinds

345
00:17:06.680 --> 00:17:09.839
of glimmers in the music industry is people who are

346
00:17:09.880 --> 00:17:13.599
really passionate about driving home this message of how important

347
00:17:14.200 --> 00:17:17.640
finding your sense of belonging and your sense of purpose

348
00:17:18.599 --> 00:17:21.720
and just meaning in your life is. And Nico's been

349
00:17:21.720 --> 00:17:23.880
a great partner, but he's so emblematic of what we're

350
00:17:23.880 --> 00:17:26.000
trying to do at one million Strong, because you're right,

351
00:17:26.039 --> 00:17:30.519
this is an issue that disproportionately impacts the music industry,

352
00:17:30.559 --> 00:17:33.960
but that is exactly why the music industry is actually

353
00:17:34.000 --> 00:17:36.799
well positioned to go solve it better than anyone else.

354
00:17:37.119 --> 00:17:37.680
I love it.

355
00:17:38.200 --> 00:17:40.880
How do people reach out to you when you're not

356
00:17:40.960 --> 00:17:44.759
at festivals to join your community?

357
00:17:45.359 --> 00:17:47.920
They can go visit us online one million strong dot com.

358
00:17:47.960 --> 00:17:51.160
They can check out our social media pages, and then

359
00:17:51.359 --> 00:17:53.480
more important than anything else, because what we're all about

360
00:17:53.559 --> 00:17:55.079
is how do we get people to think differently about

361
00:17:55.119 --> 00:17:58.480
this conversation. The takeaway here would be people are going

362
00:17:58.559 --> 00:18:01.960
to be back in their homes, barbecues, among friends, at

363
00:18:02.000 --> 00:18:04.839
their workplaces, and when they come to think about mental

364
00:18:04.839 --> 00:18:07.519
well being, what I really want for your listeners to

365
00:18:07.559 --> 00:18:10.799
hear is think about how to build that anywhere. Think

366
00:18:10.839 --> 00:18:12.960
about how you can do that by starting just a

367
00:18:13.000 --> 00:18:16.160
conversation or engaging in a difficult conversation and not shying

368
00:18:16.200 --> 00:18:18.160
away from the hard things in life, and find a

369
00:18:18.160 --> 00:18:20.400
way how to build that sense of community with those

370
00:18:20.400 --> 00:18:22.480
who are around you, no matter where you are. That's

371
00:18:22.480 --> 00:18:23.839
one of the best things you can do for those

372
00:18:23.839 --> 00:18:26.079
who are at the festival. We're by the FOURK and

373
00:18:26.160 --> 00:18:29.039
Flask stage here this weekend and next and folks can

374
00:18:29.079 --> 00:18:31.960
come by purchase mocktails and with other people, get some

375
00:18:31.960 --> 00:18:34.920
photos in our photo booth, or contribute to the community wall.

376
00:18:35.160 --> 00:18:37.240
Like I said, we've got some temporary tattoos as well,

377
00:18:37.279 --> 00:18:40.079
with messages and resilience on there. These are just fun

378
00:18:40.079 --> 00:18:42.200
things to get involved, but sometimes we start with that

379
00:18:42.279 --> 00:18:44.640
fun because it carries a deeper message. Yeah, and we

380
00:18:44.680 --> 00:18:46.279
want people to take that deeper message home.

381
00:18:47.039 --> 00:18:49.440
And I'm glad you brought up the mocktails because that

382
00:18:49.599 --> 00:18:52.160
was the thing I was going to close with because

383
00:18:52.680 --> 00:18:55.920
I started to interview drinking one of your mock tails.

384
00:18:55.920 --> 00:19:00.400
That was fricking great, so good, unbelievably so.

385
00:19:00.559 --> 00:19:00.920
Yeah.

386
00:19:01.039 --> 00:19:05.000
If nothing else, you gotta come check out their mocktails.

387
00:19:05.440 --> 00:19:07.799
They're delicious, man. Yeah, I'm all for it.

388
00:19:07.960 --> 00:19:08.480
There it is.

389
00:19:08.680 --> 00:19:10.839
Any final words you want to give the listeners that

390
00:19:10.880 --> 00:19:11.960
we haven't covered.

391
00:19:11.839 --> 00:19:14.759
No, I think we've hit it all again. Visit us online,

392
00:19:14.920 --> 00:19:17.200
go learn more about one million strong and more than anything,

393
00:19:17.200 --> 00:19:19.440
figure out how you can change this conversation and your

394
00:19:19.440 --> 00:19:21.400
own home and in your own community. What it comes

395
00:19:21.440 --> 00:19:23.279
down to is not what somebody else can do to

396
00:19:23.279 --> 00:19:25.319

Pipeman Interviews 1 Million Strong at Bourbon & Beyond 2025

Listen On

Featured Episodes

Recent Episodes

Support On