Oceanside CA— Luc and the Lovingtons, a World-Soul-Reggae band from the Pacific Northwest and artist Benjamin Swatez, kicked off their second-ever Goodness Tour in early October. Tonight is the finale for this year’s tour and it’s taking place in Oceanside at the Muramid International Mural Museum and Art Center, 212 F Artist Alley at 7:30pm.
“I have come to know that music is a vital and essential service, especially in tragic situations,” said Luc Reynaud, founder of The Goodness Tour. “I realized that I could combine my two passions– music and service –into one, calling it: Music Service. It was with that spirit of service that The Goodness Tour was founded, a free show that tours around the country playing for people facing adversity.”

The band has performed free shows in shelters, tent cities, hospitals, juvenile crises centers including Seattle, Portland, San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles and San Diego. Ben Swatez, a painter and the 5th member of the band, will paint live during the shows and invite audiences to take part in the painting as well. This year’s tour began October 15th, with a concert for cancer patients and their families at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, followed by a Seattle community party on October 17th open to the general public.
Luc and the Lovingtons introduced this novel music as a service concept in 2014. After a handful of fundraising events, community outreach and various forms of crowdfunding, the band departed on their first ever ticketless Goodness Tour. The band played 17 shows in shelters, tent cities and soup kitchens in Seattle, Portland, Santa Cruz, San Francisco, Santa Barbara and in LA. Through collaborations with Harmonic Humanity, Anonymous Good, Seeds of Life and other organizations for Good, the inaugural tour was deemed such a success that it is making an encore this year.
“There was a magic at these shows, people really felt the spirit of love and goodness in the music,” said Luc Reynaud. “We are thrilled to be making an encore this year and cannot wait to expand on last year’s magic moments.”
The organization is currently fundraising via t-shirt and hoodie sales (https://www.bandpage.com/lucandthelovingtons) as well as crowd-funding efforts via GoFundMe (https://www.gofundme.com/thegoodnesstour). Another beautiful part of The Goodness Tour is that the public is invited to contribute their talents as well.