The first "320 Festival" with a focus on mental health, will be a 3-day event this weekend from May 8 - 10. It will be rolling out later at 8:30 am PT/ 5:30 am ET. The streaming event is in line with the observation of Mental Health Awareness Month. "320 Festival" is aiming to bring awareness towards mental health through Q&A discussions, educational sessions, musical performances, workshops and more. The online festival is organized and produced by Warped Tour founder, Kevin Lyman and 320 Changes Direction co-founder, Talinda Bennington. Talinda Bennington is the wife of the late Linkin Park vocalist, Chester Bennington who committed suicide in 2017. With her first-hand experience, she was inspired to form 320 Changes Direction to educate people and create awareness about mental health and addiction issues and address the needs of those suffering from it. In a press release, Bennington said there is a need to change the culture of mental health where the victim and the family could "speak openly about their struggles" and seek the help they deserve. She shared on a video how she witnessed her late husband suffered through mental illness and addiction that led him to commit suicide. The tragedy moved her to take action saying she was "compelled to help those struggling to normalize" dialogues and teach them how to cope. Lyman, on his part, has seen and known people struggling in silence. He observed that now, people are more open to talking about it, however, they are not aware on how to tap the available resources. He discussed the idea of promoting these resources with Bennington that led to an original May 9 event in Los Angeles. The physical gathering was canceled due to the COVID-19 situation but as fate had it, the development opened the avenue to make it online for a wider reach. Lyman felt the strong need to support the mental health of those working in the music industry citing the numerous deaths over the years. He said that "we've lost a whole generation of artists." Those who died due to substance or alcohol abuse points to a deeper underlying mental health condition. He adds, "we need to take care of our artists and crews" more than ever than before. Lyman says the single-day event extended to become a three-day streaming festival with the help of KNEKT.TV. "320 Festival" will stream worldwide on 320 Festival's Facebook page, YouTube live, KNEKT.TV Network on Roku and Apple TV. Lyman and Bennington tapped 40 non-profit partners such as MusiCares, To Write Love on Her Arms, among others who will help provide resources to those who will seek help for their mental well-being. The festival will run over 20 hours of programming, with more than 30 performances from music artists and more than a hundred resource speakers. Included in the line-up of performers and appearance are Chris Martin of Coldplay, Echosmith, Kesha, Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park, Yungblud, Kiiara, among others. Donations will also be accepted all of which will be turned over to support the 40 non-profit partners. From May 8 - 10, the day will open with Mindfulness Break and will be followed by educational sessions and discussions about various topics, with performances interspersed throughout the day. Click on here for the full schedule.
320 Festival will kick-off on Friday, May 8, 2020 and will be on until May 10, 2020.
