Music and Mental Health Take Center Stage

P​ress Release:

Music and Mental Health Take Center Stage

by Ava Henrickson

June 28, 2024

Two bands take the stage together this weekend for the first time, ever, to strike a chord.

The Wendy Clark Band and Angie Stevens and the Beautiful Wreck are playing from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday, June 29, 2024, at Bar 404 on Broadway.

​Angie Stevens and the Beautiful Wreck​ has 8 albums; the latest titled Learn to Let the Light In was released on Spotify one song at a time over the time span of about a year, starting in the Spring of 2023.

Both bands are fronted by outstanding songwriters who have a passion for music and writing songs that universally connect with fans yet are a reflection of what’s happening in their own lives. Stevens is well known in the Denver music scene as a lover of light and “hippie” healing – her power ballad “Let Love Be the Light” is an anthem for her heartwarming message of letting love in and seeing the light in life and difficult situations.

Meanwhile, Clark croons a more cryptic message of sarcastic optimistic love in the new brooding single “60 Songs.” Clark was the founder of Denver-based original rock band Tequila Mockingbird. Active on the Front Range music circuit and indie scene since 1996, she is a writer, composer, guitarist, bandleader, recording artist, manager, and promoter.

While both musicians pull inspiration from multiple facets of their lives, both believe that the message of taking care of your mental health is just about as important as it gets. Stevens has long been an advocate for mental health awareness and has been very open about her journey of grief and loss. Stevens’ most recent release, “Standing on the Corner,” contemplates facing one’s own mortality.

"Suicide has deeply impacted my life, not only by losing those I loved including my nephew a few years ago, but facing my own idealizations and desperately trying to find another way out of the darkness."

The song is her attempt to normalize talking about mental health as well as shine a beacon of hope for those who need it, Stevens said. This is a recurring theme that is also prevalent in another song off the same album, "North Star."

"Sometimes in our aloneness, our thoughts can become our worst enemy. North Star is my attempt to not necessarily quell the storm, but provide a buoy of hope along the way," said Stevens.

Clark is diving right into a sea of vulnerability and sharing about her mental health condition that she normally keeps very closely guarded.

Clark lives with acute, chronic panic disorder, a DSM-5 anxiety disorder (learn more about panic disorder here: https://ada.com/conditions/acute-panic-attack), and it got her in a situation that she says she’s not only not proud of, but one she’s still reeling from today. The musician spent weeks in jail after being arrested for DUI, which she says was a case of mistaken intoxication. Clark says she was driving and in the middle of one of her many panic attacks a day she was pulled over by police. She says the police mistook her panic symptoms as driving under the influence and once in jail, she was denied proper medication, treatment and certainly any compassion for her situation. Clark’s blood alcohol level (B.A.C.) was 0.00.

“I have to live with constant panic attacks everyday,” Clark said. “I have nocturnal panic and I have daily attacks of different degrees and symptoms, none of which are pleasant but I have learned that music gives me peace of mind above everything else.” Clark wrote “60 Songs” about modern society’s role in doing better for everyone no matter what their condition or situation and also is a meditation on her jail experience and hope. The band is recording the track in August with the label.

“Our society doesn’t help the small percentage of those with panic disorder to succeed and aren’t informed because it is an ‘invisible disability,’ and tend to forget it is as difficult to live with as any disability with a severe diagnosis, and just because you can’t touch it, doesn’t mean it isn’t there,” said Clark.

“’60 Songs’ is about acceptance and going forward with respect to make the world a better place for all of us.” While the two are similar minded about keeping a healthy mind, their music isn’t as exactly similarly situated.

Clark’s playful lyrical style is described as retro-futurist new wave genre-shifting rock, with hooky, unapologetically complicated guitar riffs and groovy bass lines, while Steven’s Americana style features fiddle parts, lyrical storytelling, and, if you’re lucky, you’ll get some emotional healing.

The Wendy Clark Band is composed of Wendy Clark on guitar and lead vocals, Chris Coward on bass guitar and vocals, Kate LeRoux on guitar and vocals, and Andy Sweetser on drums, and also Mark Hendrickson on percussion.

Angie Stevens and the Beautiful Wreck is made up of Angie Stevens on lead vocals and guitar, Mackenzie Miller, violin and vocals, Ali Frankfurt on bass and vocals, Stu Miller on electric guitar and vocals and Carlos Newman on drums.

Presale tickets are $10 and are available here: https://bit.ly/bar404. Day of show tickets are $15.

Music and Mental Health Take Center Stage