Musicians talking about social good. It’s Giving impact.
Hosted by Ingela Travers-Hayward, co-founder of the overdose prevention nonprofit This Must Be The Place, It’s Giving explores the intersection of music and philanthropy through raw, insightful conversations with artists about the causes they support.
Join us as we go behind the scenes with your favorite musicians to discuss the heart behind the art and the movements they are building off-stage.
New episodes every Wednesday, starting May 6. To support us, follow along on Substack: itsgivingpod.substack.com
What does it look like when a musician puts their platform, money, and music directly on the line for social justice? In this episode of It’s Giving, Ingela sits down with El Kempner, the songwriter and guitarist behind Palehound, to dive into that exact question.
El opens up about their current New York residency at Cassette, where every single dollar raised goes directly to the Immigrant Defense Project. Living in NYC, El reflects on seeing the impact of current immigration policies firsthand and explains why directing financial support to grassroots legal advocacy felt like an urgent necessity right now.
Beyond using their own voice, El shares what it was like organizing the residency, bringing together guest artists like Frankie Cosmos, Annie DiRusso, and Cassandra Jenkins, and why none of them hesitated to join the lineup. El also offers an honest look at the realities of benefit shows, shedding light on what it actually takes for musicians to turn good intentions into tangible community action.
"When you have a platform, putting your money behind what you believe in and getting your community involved is the most powerful thing you can do."
If you loved this interview, please leave a rating, drop a review, and subscribe to support the show so I can bring you even more artist interviews! Don't miss next Wednesday's episode, where I'll introduce another incredible musician leveraging their platform for meaningful advocacy!
14 Oct 2026
It's Giving: Valerie June
What if joy is its own form of activism? In this episode of It’s Giving, Ingela sits down with singer-songwriter Valerie June for a conversation about staying centered, grounded, and connected in a divided world.
Valerie reflects on her lifelong journey of speaking up – tracing her activism all the way back to fourth grade when she sang Woody Guthrie's "This Land Is Your Land" for her class. She also opens up about living with diabetes, her participation in Power to the Patients’ Super Bowl ad for healthcare price transparency, and why she strives to make her live shows a welcoming space for people from every walk of life.
Fresh off tour with Ani DiFranco, Valerie makes a powerful case that real cultural change requires all of us – from frontline activists to quiet meditators. Drawing inspiration from Tricia Hersey’s philosophy of rest as resistance, she reminds us why taking a nap or pausing to recharge is a radical and necessary act.
“I choose to focus on joy and positive activism. If I can just turn on that light switch for them and keep that light switch lit, then that torch is gonna go farther than me just picking a lane.”
If you loved this interview, please leave a rating, drop a review, and subscribe to support the show so I can bring you even more artist interviews! Don't miss next Wednesday's episode, where I'll introduce another incredible musician leveraging their platform for meaningful advocacy!
7 Oct 2026
It's Giving: Lawrence Rothman
This week on It's Giving, Ingela sits down with Lawrence Rothman on the heels of their brand new album Here Lies Love / Sawdust to Stardust.
This episode is rooted in the question ‘what if being your most authentic self is its own form of activism’? Lawrence talks about refusing to hide, on stage or off, and what that refusal has cost them over the course of their career.
One of the prime examples Lawrence talks about is an experience back in 2010 during an Interview magazine spread that advertisers pulled out of because of how they dressed. But they also talk about why they wouldn't water down "LAX," a song about abusing laxatives, knowing others were struggling in silence.
Lawrence also makes the case that entertainers have a responsibility to drop the filters and show the human behind the performance, and calls for a culture that's less judgmental and more forgiving of people still growing into themselves.
"The freedom to be oneself. A lot of artists before me have paved that way for me to be myself, but there's still a lot of work to be done."
If you loved this interview, please leave a rating, drop a review, and subscribe to support the show so I can bring you even more artist interviews! Don't miss next Wednesday's episode, where I'll introduce another incredible musician leveraging their platform for meaningful advocacy!
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5.0 / 5
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Spotify
5.0 / 5
38 ratings
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