Our dear friends, Gary and Eileen Stone, have been in the Atlanta area and a part of the music scene here for almost 60 years. Like we all have, they've had their share of medical issues, and when you cross the 70 year mark, small issues get to be much more serious.

 

That said, the COVID pandemic shut everybody inside their homes and subsequently shut down opportunities to work for Gary and Eileen, really hitting them hard. Prior to the pandemic, they lived on their Social Security checks and whatever music gigs Gary could play to get by. Unfortunately they didn't qualify for weekly pandemic checks (like so many of us did) and due to the shutdowns Gary, like all other musicians, couldn't play music. As a result, they've gotten behind on the real estate taxes on the house they've owned for 40 years and now the state is threatening to take their home. With the slow opening of music venues and the cut-throat market of finding jobs to play, Gary's opportunities in the live music scene have been struggling to recover but will eventually.

If they don't catch up on the taxes they owe ($2,700) they will be out on the street. I can't pay that amount, but I'll give them what I can to try and help them bridge the gap until music jobs have recovered, and I'm asking for others to help them too. If we don't, they will lose everything they have.