Who We Are | Beathaven

Our History

Executive Director, Rebecca Lynch, has spent more than 25 years as a nonprofit professional and forty years as a working musician.

In early 2020, her musical ensemble was booked throughout the year when all performances were cancelled indefinitely due to the pandemic. To stay practiced, performing, and earning income (after four of the six members lost their day jobs), she created an ongoing, outdoor event named “Timberstock.”

For four years, as the virus waxed and waned, her ensemble performed live music for hundreds of people in the MetroWest Massachusetts area. Everyone was welcomed – from babies to octogenarians to four-legged fans. Performances were free. That's how she learned the importance of providing music for ALL groups..

To pay band members, she solicited sponsorships and donations that kept the performers employed (at a time when few artists could work) and audiences of all ages and demographics entertained. “It was one of the only events we could safely attend in the early days of COVID,” says sponsor, Dawna P, “In the summer of 2020, I would show up with my beach chair, wearing a mask, dance and cry – it was so good to hear live music and be with other people.”

She wasn’t alone. A parent of young children loved the opportunity to expose his children to live music. “It was the only opportunity for my kids to hear something other than Disney songs. My kids – as well as all the neighborhood children – gathered on their bikes and skateboards, played together, and listened to professional musicians on sunny, summer afternoons.”

Parents, grandparents, people with disabilities, babies (and even a few dogs), attended the free (thanks to sponsors) performances. The band played requests. They even started "Stump the Band," where audience members suggested new songs to tackle. They performed a killer, ad hoc, "Stairway to Heaven" and butchered, "Jesse's Girl." The band built a following as well as a musical family (some of whom are now board members).