At a time when the word “community” gets tossed around more than it’s actually felt, a new national initiative is trying to make it mean something again—and it’s tapping into music to do it.
The Foundation for Social Connection Action Network has teamed up with Artist For Action—a collective that includes names like Billie Eilish, Peter Gabriel, Sheryl Crow, and Kevin Bacon—to launch “Come Together,” a multi-year push aimed at tackling one of the most quietly devastating issues in America: loneliness.
Yes, loneliness. Not exactly the sexiest headline—but maybe the most urgent one.
“Come Together” isn’t just another awareness campaign with a hashtag and a playlist. The idea is to bring artists, scientists, policymakers, and communities into the same room—literally and figuratively—to rethink how connection happens in 2026.
Legendary guitarist and producer Neil Giraldo is stepping in as Founding Chair, and he’s not approaching this as an abstract issue.
“As someone who has felt the impact of social isolation… I know firsthand that this is a moment to act—not just as artists, advocates, and policymakers, but as neighbors and citizens.”
The initiative officially kicked off during South by Southwest (SXSW), folded into the Take Action x SXSW programming—two days designed to blur the line between music and impact.
One standout moment: a “Mental Health in Music” panel featuring Michael Angelakos of Passion Pit alongside Giraldo and a neuroscientist. The conversation didn’t just hover around vague ideas of “healing through music”—it dug into how connection actually works, from brain science to the reality of life on and off stage.
If the music industry has spent the last decade optimizing for streams, reach, and algorithmic dominance, “Come Together” is quietly pushing back.
As co-founder Matthew Reich put it:
“For years, the industry has optimized for reach. What we saw at Take Action x SXSW is that people are craving something deeper… a real connection. In a moment where the loneliness epidemic is becoming part of the cultural conversation, live music has the power to bring people back together. ‘Come Together’ is about artists leading that movement, not just feeding the content cycle.”
That line lands because it’s true. We’ve never been more plugged in—or more detached.
The initiative plans to roll out artist-led events, performances, and intergenerational programs designed to do something deceptively simple: get people in the same space again, sharing an experience that isn’t mediated through a screen.
The idea of loneliness as a public health crisis isn’t new—but it’s finally being taken seriously at a national level. And while policy and funding will be part of the equation, this project is betting on something less bureaucratic and more human: the communal power of music.
Because for all the industry’s obsession with metrics, the real magic has always been in the room—the crowd singing back, the strangers turning into something like a community, even if just for a night.
“Come Together” is trying to scale that feeling.
Find more info here.
