‘Heartbeat To Heartbeat, Eye To Eye,’ Unity Through Music
Photo by Victor Hughes on Unsplash
On Tuesday, Artown released a song in collaboration with the City of Reno, the Reno Philharmonic and several other organizers to create ‘Heartbeat to Heartbeat, Eye to Eye,’ which features dozens of local musicians and artists. Recognizable figures were Grace Hayes, who is known for creating her own ‘Reno Anthem’ in 2017, Dave Berry of the funkalicious band Jelly Bread, Scott Myer, an incredible guitarist and father to Whitney Myer (she was a Reno local who made it onto season two of ‘The Voice,’ in 2012), and so many more. Reno has always been a city of flourishing art, star-shine talent and trendsetting flair — but this song does so much more than showcase that.
The renowned Reno Phil certainly knocked this one out of the ballpark, as usual. Seamlessly leading the listener into a heartfelt, empowering message, the song beautifully illustrates Reno’s diversity — not only with the musicians and singers themselves, but with their styles. From the saxophone to the piano, orchestra to vocals and even a rap piece, it’s rare that a track can combine elements from all different genres and compliment them well. Lyrics aside, the whole piece perfectly displays Reno’s assortment of people, unified by music. The visuals of the music video are also impeccably shot, sneaking in peaks of familiar landmarks such as the Reno arch, the BELIEVE sign, the Space Whale and the Virginia Street bridge. The video looks and feels like home, an emotion some Renoites haven’t been able to enjoy since the beginning of the pandemic in March.
“Stand strong now together, we’re gonna survive / This is our moment, let’s get it right / It’s a long road out ahead of us, if we’re gonna bridge this divide / Heartbeat to heartbeat, eye to eye.” The message of this chorus is what our diverse population needed, and perhaps the rest of the nation. It was only two or three months ago that violent protests broke out in Downtown Reno over racial injustice and police brutality. The protests continued long after that, and as someone who works in media, I’ve personally seen substantial contention between both sides of the aisle. The lyrics of this track do something special — they hail the listener to do something, to rise up to the occasion, to answer the call for action, but together with empathy for our fellow humans.
As if there weren’t enough good things to say about the content of this piece, the song was created as a response to a challenge. According to Artown's website, the song was inspired by a challenge from Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer's 'Lift Up Lou,' movement, meant to keep residents' spirits up during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This amazing song and video show that, even though our lives have changed dramatically since March, our arts and culture scene is still very much alive in Reno,” Reno Mayor Hillary Schieve said in a statement. "“The arts have strengthened Reno’s economy, driven tourism, sparked creativity and innovation, and have promoted local business. I am so very proud to once again raise the profile of Reno's incredible local arts and culture scene."
Proceeds from the song will benefit Artown's 'From Reno with Love Artist Fund,' which will help performing artists affected economically by COVID-19.
I lived in the Reno area for over 20 years. Seeing my hometown go through so much, but stand tall against the turmoil of the world has been both humbling and inspiring. Anyone who has lived there for as long as I did knows it’s not a cookie-cutter, one-size-fits-all town. It’s always been a city of characters, festivities for all ages and a mix of cultures from around the globe. Reno has grown from the butt of a Muppets joke to a center of prosperous opportunity, a growing heart of creativity on the west coast. I’m proud my city decided to take up this challenge to unify and comfort our citizens during these weird times.
And, they did it pretty damn well.
If you’d like to donate to the From Reno with Love Artist Fund, click here.
