Hey y’all, Dave needs our help. He was playing a gig on Halloween Eve when he noticed something was seriously off. His hands weren’t connecting with the strings. The words were jumbled in his brain. Playing guitar and singing is his most natural state and he knew something was wrong. He called off the gig and went straight to the ER where they discovered he had a stroke. The good news is that it wasn’t catastrophic and they expect him to recover. The bad news is he has lost some of his motor skills and rehab will take at least a couple months to get back to where he can perform. Between the cost of the ER, weeks of rehab and lost income, this is pretty catastrophic for him financially.

I’ve said this before: Dave shows up. When friends need help, Dave is there. Sometimes it’s public, but it’s often private. He has not just played countless benefits and fundraisers, he produces them. For 10 years he produced the Jamie Galloway Block Party that raised money for the New Orleans Musicians Clinic. He was a Visionary of the Year for the LA Leukemia and Lymphoma Foundation. There are dozens of others.

He has paid it forward, so now it’s our turn to give back. It’s in the spirit and culture of New Orleans to lift our own when they are in need. But i’m not just calling on New Orleans, as Dave has spent decades touring the country and sharing his stories and the New Orleans vibe. I’m asking his friends and fans and the music community nationwide to help too.

Do it for Dave. Give him a stroke of luck. Let’s help him get healed up and back singing and playing again. Or as Steve Winwood famously sang, “Back in the high life, again.”