In celebration of Veterans Day, Newport Festivals Foundation will be making a donation to Guitars For Vets on behalf of Newport Folk Festival alum, The War and Treaty. The funds will be used to purchase 15 guitars and accessories.

The War and Treaty’s Michael Trotter, a veteran himself, recommended the donation be directed to the Nashville chapter of Guitars For Vets. Of the donation, Michael noted, “thank you so much on behalf of myself, The War and Treaty, and veterans of Nashville, TN we thank you and we salute you”.

Guitars For Vets was founded in 2007 by Patrick Nettesheim and Dan Van Buskirk. Upon learning of the donation, Nettesheim noted “Guitars for Vets (G4V) has but one purpose; We support our brothers and sisters who served on our behalf and are struggling with the challenges of PTSD, regain their joy by way of the guitar. Thank you Newport Festivals / The War and Treaty for putting the healing power of music in the hands of heroes!”

In tandem with the donation, the Newport Folk Festival has released a video of The War and Treaty performing in the Quad Stage on Sunday, July 29th. Reflecting on his experience at Newport, Michael stated “In 2004, I was sitting on a stool on the banks of the Euphrates river with my pal Greg Kusel daydreaming about music. We were for a second at peace while away at war and Greg’s guitar along with his picking and my voice created that moment. We’d often talk about getting out and I’d share with him some of my hopes and dreams of becoming a full-time musician. This year at Newport Folk Festival my mind was whisked away to that moment right before we took the stage. That’s what I was thinking about while I was performing. Even when I was in Glen Hansard’s dressing room practicing his song “Her Mercy” Greg was on my mind.