Kane Brown–Signed Guitar Goes Up for Auction to Help Bring Music to Shelters

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A guitar signed by country star Kane Brown was among the items up for auction Monday, Nov. 2, at City Winery Nashville, where the Giving Guitars Foundation held its third annual benefit concert. The event marked five years of bringing live music and instruments to shelters and other community organizations.

Nashville country artist and Giving Guitars founder Steven Cade joined Grammy-nominated songwriter Jeff Cohen and Scottish recording artist Kerri Watt on the concert lineup. Before the show, Cade spoke about what happens to the guitars his foundation gives away once the musicians pack up and leave.

“We leave the guitar at the shelter to be used like a library book,” Cade said.

The instruments stay with the organizations, and staff can let people know there’s a guitar available if they want to learn. Cade said some children have started guitar circles, formed worship bands or held talent contests with the donated instruments. He hopes people who learn to play will teach someone else.

From a personal outlet to a family effort

For Cade, the idea behind Giving Guitars grew out of his own experience with the instrument.

“For me personally, guitars have been a therapy for me, and we’ve seen firsthand how it can impact somebody’s life,” he said.

Cade and his family travel to homeless shelters, foster homes, domestic violence centers and schools serving low-income communities. The foundation also works with veterans experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder. Its visits pair live performances with guitar donations so the people who hear the music have a chance to make their own.

Since 2021, the foundation says it has donated more than 300 guitars and visited more than 175 shelters and organizations across 25 states and three countries.

Some of the stories Cade hears come from people who have spent time in shelters. He recalled hearing about one person who arrived at a shelter with nothing, learned to play guitar and eventually became the shelter’s executive director. For Cade, stories like that are part of what keeps him and his family on the road.

A Nashville stage for the foundation’s work

Monday’s concert brought the foundation’s work to a Music City stage. Cade pointed to Brown’s signed guitar as one example of how fellow artists are getting involved. The benefit also brought in Watt, who Cade said had previously opened for Keith Urban and Celine Dion, and Cohen, a Grammy-nominated songwriter.

Cade said he hopes the event encourages people to think about how they can use skills they already have to help someone. In the interview, he rattled off examples ranging from firefighters to software developers to news anchors. He said the same idea applies to his own work as a musician.

“I’m an artist and I just happen to know about guitars,” Cade said.

More information about the foundation and its work is available on their website.