Music Heals Week: Donate to WXPN Musicians On Call!
This week WXPN presents Music Heals Week, celebrating music’s power to comfort, inspire, and heal while raising support for the Musicians On Call program. For over 20 years, Musicians On Call volunteers have brought live performances to more than 156,000 people across our listening area.
Highlights include the “Songs That Got You Through” Lunch Hour (Mon–Wed at noon), plus stories all week long from Musicians On Call volunteers, guides, staff, and those whose lives have been touched by the program.
Daily guests include:
- Mon: Pete Griffin, Musicians On Call CEO
- Tue: David Falcone, local MOC musician
- Wed: Susan Berkowitz, local MOC guide
- Thu: Mutlu, local MOC musician
- Fri: Amos Lee, singer-songwriter
Fundraising during Music Heals Week
Every donation to WXPN Musicians On Call will be matched up to $5,000 in memory of Andy Katz. Our $55,000 goal will sustain bedside performances year-round, with added support from the WXPN 5K Run & Funky Miler Walk on October 19. Just 100 listeners giving $50 will meet the match, and every $150 covers one night of music in a local hospital. With your help, we can launch a new weekly bedside program at another healthcare facility in 2026.
Full interviews will be available daily here on this page below.
Thursday, August 21: Musicians On Call Volunteer Musician Mutlu
As part of Music Heals Week, WXPN spoke with Philadelphia singer-songwriter Mutlu, who has been volunteering with Musicians On Call since the program began here in 2004.
From his very first visit, Mutlu says he felt the impact of bringing music into hospital rooms, not just for patients, but for their families, nurses, and caregivers too. In his conversation with WXPN, he reflects on the nerves of those early days, the magic that happens when a song connects in such an intimate space, and how the experience came full circle when his own mother received visits from Musicians On Call during her hospital stay.
Mutlu also shares the moments that have stayed with him, including playing Bill Withers’ “Lovely Day” for a patient being discharged, a soundtrack for hope at just the right time.
Wednesday, August 20: Musicians On Call Volunteer Guide Susan Berkowitz
Mike Vasilikos sat down with Susan Berkowitz, one of the very first volunteer guides for Musicians On Call in Philadelphia.
For more than 20 years, Susan has been the person who opens the door, introduces the program, and brings music into hospital rooms where patients, and often their families, need it most.
In this interview Susan shares what it’s like to step into those spaces, how music transforms the atmosphere for everyone from patients to caregivers, and the stories that have stayed with her, from quiet moments of connection to an impromptu Metallica request that turned a hospital room into a metal venue.
Tuesday, August 19: Musicians On Call Volunteer Musician David Falcone
As Music Heals Week continues, Mike V. spoke with Philadelphia musician David Falcone, who has been volunteering with Musicians On Call since 2004. For more than two decades, David has brought his guitar into hospital rooms across the region, offering short, intimate performances that often leave a lasting impression on patients and their families.
In his conversation with Mike V., David reflects on why he first got involved, what it feels like to play music in such personal settings, and the unpredictable, moving moments that happen when a simple song becomes part of someone’s healing.
Monday, August 18: Musicians On Call CEO Pete Griffin
To kick off Music Heals Week, WXPN’s Mike Vasilikos spoke with Musicians On Call CEO Pete Griffin about the program’s 25-year history, its growth from New York City to hospitals nationwide, and the moments that continue to inspire its mission.
Griffin recalls a program in Las Vegas following the 2017 mass shooting at Route 91 Harvest festival. Within a week of the tragedy, Musicians On Call brought artists, some of whom had performed at the festival, to play for survivors in the hospital.
Many patients’ last memory of hearing live music was in the chaos of that night. Hearing it again, in a calm and caring setting, helped them reconnect with the joy and community that first drew them to the festival.
Griffin says he watched the energy in the room shift from fear and grief to lightness and hope, a transformation that reinforced why the organization works to reach more hospitals and more people.
How it works
- Volunteer Guides act as the “eyes and ears” of the program, leading musicians through each visit and connecting with families and staff.
- Volunteer Musicians are professional-caliber local artists who perform hopeful, uplifting songs at the bedside or during virtual programs.
- Bedside programs bring musicians room-to-room for intimate, acoustic performances. Each session lasts about 90 minutes and serves 25–30 people.
- Virtual programs use video conferencing to connect performers with patients across multiple hospitals at once, reaching hundreds of people in a single session.
WXPN Musicians On Call programs are active at: Bryn Mawr Hospital, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Lankenau Medical Center, Our Lady of Lourdes Medical Center, St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children, the Philadelphia VA Medical Center Community Living Center, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, and Wilmington Hospital/Christiana Care.
MOC’s network includes Volunteer Guides, Volunteer Musicians and renowned artist supporters including Dolly Parton, Barry Manilow, Kelly Clarkson, Darius Rucker, Trisha Yearwood, Katy Perry, Noah Kahan, Jason Derulo, Ed Sheeran, The War And Treaty, Reba McEntire, Chicago, Camila Cabello, Lauren Daigle, Train, Wynonna Judd, Charles Esten, Nick Jonas, Blake Shelton, Lindsey Stirling, Keith Urban, Pharrell, Kelsea Ballerini, Old Dominion, Amos Lee, Gavin DeGraw, Luis Fonsi, Peter Frampton, Luke Bryan, Menudo and many more