It's Giving

Today on It’s Giving, Ingela sits down with musician, advocate, and nonprofit leader Logan Lynn. From launching the Pass the Mic Foundation alongside Portugal. The Man to activating tours with acts like Boygenius and NoFX, Logan brings decades of hands-on experience at the intersection of music, community empowerment, and mental health advocacy. 

 Logan breaks down his philosophy of "nothing about us without us", hig...

Today on It’s Giving, Ingela sits down with four time Grammy-nominated artist Grace Potter. From driving cross-country between California and her family farm in Vermont to connect with strangers across political divides, to taking her music into a Rhode Island women's prison with the Newport Folk Foundation to bear witness to forgotten stories, Grace offers a deeply honest perspective on how to navigate the raw, chaotic state...

Today on It’s Giving, Ingela sits down with Westside Cowboy’s Aoife Anson O'Connell. Aoife shares an honest look at what it means to build a band grounded in practical social justice, navigating the daunting responsibility of having a growing platform while trying to ensure your work aligns with your values.  

Aoife breaks down the origins and impact of No Band Is an Island, a Manchester-based community initiat...

Today on It’s Giving, host Ingela Travers-Hayward sits down with Medium Build’s Nick Carpenter. Nick opens up about what happens when you step into a much bigger spotlight – navigating the shift from a decade of independent hustle to sudden visibility, and the effort it takes to stay grounded when the industry pushes you to perform.

Nick offers an honest look at how he approaches advocacy without feeling the need t...

Today on It’s Giving, host Ingela Travers-Hayward sits down with Laura Bird Burhenn, the visionary force behind The Mynabirds. Laura opens up about one of the most pressing challenges facing creators today: the real, nuts-and-bolts impact of emerging technology and AI on an artist’s livelihood, ownership, and creative career.

Laura gives a candid, highly practical look at how rapid technological shifts are fundamentally ...

Today on It’s Giving, host Ingela Travers-Hayward sits down with Jason Singer, the singer-songwriter behind the indie rock project Michigander. Jason opens up about the evolving landscape of political discourse in music, exploring the real fears independent artists face when speaking out, and why he’s shifting his own approach from outrage to thoughtful, heart-centered dialogue.

Jason shares candid insights on his journe...

Today on It’s Giving, host Ingela Travers-Hayward is joined by Matt Quinn, lead singer of the band Mt. Joy. Matt discusses how the band’s swift rise to success sparked a deep-rooted commitment to giving back, laying out why supporting local communities and grassroots organizations sits at the heart of their music. 

Matt reflects on the band’s early days navigating the music industry, their transition into char...

Today on It’s Giving, host Ingela Travers-Hayward is joined by aja monet, an incredible musician, poet, and commuity organizer whose work beautifully bridges the worlds of art and social justice.

aja opens up about what it truly means to be a cultural worker, sharing how real, lasting change is built through years of quiet, everyday community service rather than just reacting to the moment. We talk about what it’s like ...

Today on It’s Giving, host Ingela Travers-Hayward is joined by Anthony Obi, also known by his stage name Fat Tony. He is an artist whose deep Texas roots and history in the DIY music scene completely shape his approach to advocacy and mutual aid. Tony opens up about growing up in Houston, sharing how organizing a benefit concert for Hurricane Katrina victims while still in high school made activism feel like second nature. He...

Today on It’s Giving, host Ingela Travers-Hayward is joined by Dan Campbell, the frontman of the powerhouse punk band The Wonder Years. Dan has spent decades in the punk and hardcore scenes, and he's always felt this deep, unshakeable need to use his microphone for good, even when it can bring him pushback. He touches on a challenging question that is a common theme explored throughout this series: when you are handed a massi...

Today on It’s Giving, host Ingela Travers-Hayward sits down with Azniv Korkejian, who creates beautiful music under the stage name Bedouine. Azniv is a deeply thoughtful artist whose global upbringing and lived experiences completely shape her intuitive, grounded approach to advocacy and human rights. We look at the question: how does growing up across different corners of the map shape the way you look at community and advoc...

Today on It’s Giving, host Ingela Travers-Hayward talks with the incredible August Ponthier. On top of releasing their fantastic debut album Everywhere Isn't Texas this year, August is a deeply thoughtful non-binary artist using their voice to champion trans advocacy and bodily autonomy.

In this episode, August takes us back to their roots in Texas, breaking down how old-school country music was actually working-class protest ...

On this week's episode of It’s Giving, host Ingela Travers-Hayward sits down with Dr. Dog drummer Eric Slick, a musician who has woven social justice into his creative life since his youth. They explore his foundational experiences organizing benefits in high school, his evolution navigating political accountability on tour, and his enduring focus on lifting up neurodivergent communities and individuals with special needs.&nb...

On this episode of It’s Giving, host Ingela Travers-Hayward is joined by Sadie Dupuis from Speedy Ortiz, a musician whose life as a touring artist and passion for community building have always coexisted. This conversation dives into her history of advocacy, focusing on her work with United Musicians and Allied Workers (UMAW) and her deep commitment to grassroots harm reduction.  

Sadie opens up about the gritty real...

On this episode of It’s Giving, host Ingela Travers-Hayward is joined by Alexis Krauss from Sleigh Bells, a musician whose life as a touring artist and passion for community building have always coexisted. This conversation dives into her history of advocacy, focusing on co-founding two impactful outdoor organizations: Kinship Climbing Collective and Rise Outside.

Alexis opens up about the gritty reality...

On this episode of It’s Giving, host Ingela Travers-Hayward is joined by Joy Oladokun, a musician whose art and activism have been deeply intertwined since the very beginning. This conversation dives into her history of advocacy - focusing on her deep roots in faith, family, and standing up for community care.

Joy opens up about the breakdown between commercial success and cultural impact, the anxiety and hyper-communication o...

On this episode of It’s Giving, host Ingela Travers-Hayward is joined by Brian Weitz, better known as Geologist from the influential band Animal Collective. This conversation dives into his equally long history of advocacy - focusing on his deep care for community-based harm reduction. 

Brian opens up about the "duality" of social media, the burnout that comes with the pressure to speak out on every global issue, and why ...

In the first artist spotlight of the series, Ingela sits down with Amelia Meath of Sylvan Esso to discuss why she moved away from "performative helping" toward the "smaller world" of mutual aid. Amelia talks about tackling public school lunch debt in Durham, North Carolina, opens up about the pressure of social media activism, and why she traded the studio for a rental truck to deliver supplies in the wake of Hurricane Helene.

&ldqu...

On the inaugural episode of It’s Giving, host Ingela Travers-Hayward is joined by her husband and nonprofit co-founder, William Perry. While future episodes will feature deep dives with world-class musicians about the causes they champion, this episode peels back the curtain on their own nonprofit: This Must Be The Place.

Perry shares journey from the front lines of the opioid epidemic in Ohio and a ten-year prison sentence to...