Imminence brings mental health help to fans in new concert experience with HeartSupport
“I want to heal the scene because I don’t want other people to feel the way that I do in terms of feeling alone. I want people to know that regardless of what you’re going through or what other people say, there are people out there who care.””
Swedish metalcore band Imminence recently partnered with HeartSupport to provide live mental health support at a concert in Houston. The event served as the debut of a brand new in person support wall, a specially engineered inflatable that is both easier to transport and to deploy than past models of the wall.
The event took place at House of Blues in Houston. In addition to having HeartSupport team members on the ground to initiate conversations, the wall provided a chance for attendees to open up about something they were struggling with — and for other fans to provide real-time encouragement.
The evening continued the longstanding HeartSupport tradition of pairing music and mental health support. With cathartic lyrics that dive deep into the human experience, Imminence’s music primes listeners to be in a state where emotions can easily rise to the surface.
“I hide behind the walls
'Cause I don't wanna see
The pain inside the truth
That brings me to my knees.”
— Imminence
One attendee, Megan Kovich, shared about her experience after encountering the support wall. She had submitted her story in advance, and her feelings were chosen as a topic to be added to the support wall to prompt engagement. When she walked into the venue, she was able to see what other attendees had added in real-time.
“I've always struggled with mental health and I grew up in a military family, so a lot of changes growing up, which I'm sure exacerbated some of the anxiety",” she vulnerably shared. “2018 was really the year that everything changed. The catalyst to the last few years of spiraling started with the death of one of my best friends.”
Megan experienced a series of continuing tragic losses that landed her in a completely frozen state of emotional shut-down.
She explains, “I was eventually told I have CPTSD, which is when you go through multiple back-to-back traumas. It can lead to closing yourself off and just letting yourself be angry all the time; that feels like the best way to deal with it. Because if I don't open up, if I don't let anyone get close, I can't get hurt anymore.”
Megan’s struggle escalated to the point where she was struggling with suicidal thoughts. Opening up was the last thing she wanted to do, but when she walked into the Imminence show and saw the wall, it felt like a surprising opportunity. Despite the urge to isolate, she wrote on the wall. Slowly, the whole column filled with support.
“I didn't really have time to do what I normally do, which is stabilize my emotions and tamp everything down. So seeing it was really overwhelming. Not in a bad way. It was just a really weird feeling of like, ‘oh, I opened up and it didn't kill me,’” Megan shares.
This is exactly why HeartSupport has been committed to increasing its presence at live events this year. Twelve festivals, in addition to other concerts and events, are on the calendar for the year. HeartSupport is committed to finding more people like Megan where they are.
“Everyone's just been super sweet and supportive and really listened, and I feel like I've been heard and we've been able to make connections and swap war stories, to connect on some of the things that we’ve gone through,” Megan said. “This is one of the reasons that I've always been so into metalcore specifically: I think that the music itself really is like therapy.“
If you are interested in partnering with HeartSupport for a similar support at your concert or venue to reach more music fans like Megan and help heal the scene, visit heartsupport.com/partners for more information.
