To mark the three-year anniversary of Neal Casal’s death, the late singer-songwriter’s foundation has launched a fellowship to provide mental health and wellness resources to musicians and their families.
The Neal Casal Music Foundation — started in 2020 a year after Casal’s death — has teamed with fellow non-profit Backline to fund the Neal Casal Clinical Fellowship. Potential fellows can apply for the position here.
“The loss of Neal Casal started a ripple, and a long-overdue conversation across the music industry which led a group of us to form Backline in 2019 to create a stronger safety net for musicians and music industry professionals,” Backline co-founder Jenn Glickman said in a statement.
“Since our inception, we have provided mental health services to thousands of people across the country. The Neal Casal Fellowship is a powerful next chapter in our story with the Neal Casal Music Foundation, and will help us to expand our reach and clinical resources in 2023 and beyond.”
Casal, a singer-songwriter who also worked with Willie Nelson, Ryan Adams, Chris Robinson, the Jayhawks and Phil Lesh, died by suicide on Aug. 26, 2019. A year later, a foundation was established in the musician’s honor, with artists like Steve Earle, Lucinda Williams, Phil Lesh, Warren Haynes and Billy Strings contributing to a tribute album to raise funds for the foundation.