Following the Route 91 Harvest Festival shooting in October 2017, the nonprofit organization Musicians on Call -- which brings live, in-room musical performances to healthcare facilities across the United States -- mobilized its musician volunteers to Las Vegas, Nev., to play for victims of the tragedy, their families and caregivers, and the first responders on the scene. The organization did not have a presence in the city at that point -- but on Friday (April 13), that will officially change.

That day, Musicians on Call will launch its first ongoing bedside performance program in Las Vegas, at the city's Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center. The event will take place in the lead-up to the 2018 ACM Awards on Sunday (April 15), as the program has been made possible by a $150,000 grant from ACM Lifting Lives, the Academy of Country Music's charitable arm.

"Right after the tragedy, Musicians on Call helped mobilize singers, songwriters [and] musicians to travel to Las Vegas to provide musical performances for those who were hospitalized after the tragedy," ACM CEO Pete Fisher tells The Boot. "They provide these recorded music and bedside performances at hospitals across the country, and it provides a great deal of comfort and relief ... We fell really special about [helping establish MoC's permanent presence in Las Vegas]."

Since 1999, Musicians on Call's volunteers have given performances for more than 625,000 patients in 14 U.S. locations, from Nashville to New York City, San Francisco to Miami. Their bedside performances "use music to promote and complement the healing process," a press release explains.

"These one-on-one interactions between musician and patient have a powerful effect of restoring normalcy, sharing joy and even bringing medical benefits," the press release adds.

The ACM Lifting Lives donation to Musicians on Call in Las Vegas is part of a total $400,000 the organization has donated to Route 91-related causes since Oct. 1, when the shooting took place. In the days before the 2018 ACM Awards ceremony, the ACM Party for a Cause -- a series of events throughout Las Vegas -- will raise even more money for ACM Lifting Lives to continue its work.

"We're extra proud of the events that we'll present in Vegas," Fisher says. "We're exited that Party for a Cause and Lifting Lives, the Vegas community and all the fans have have helped raise money, [and that] we're going to be able to be able to have a permanent presence with Musicians on Call in Las Vegas for years to come."

Musicians on Call's official Las Vegas launch will include a special performance from Michael Ray. Visit MusiciansOnCall.org to learn more about the organizations.

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