Will Freed uses music to offer comfort during tough times
There is single dollar bill that Will Freed will never spend.
He was standing in the back of a pickup truck last summer singing and playing his guitar at a Curbside Concert in a poverty-stricken area on the city’s South Side.
Midway through the first song a tiny girl stopped in her tracks and stood in front of the local singer, swaying back
and forth, until he finished his set.
The little girl than ran up to Freed and handed him a one-dollar bill and said it was a tip.
The girl's grandma told the singer that she had been saving the dollar for ice cream.
Freed then reached his pocket and gave the toddler a $20-dollar bill so she had enough money to buy ice cream for a week.
“For the past couple of years we have all tried to do things to help each other out,” Freed said. “These are challenging times but it's moments like that one with the little girl that have kept me going.”
Freed, 38, of Grove City, has done more than his fair share of trying to help the central Ohio community the past two years.
The blues, rock and country singer and songwriter, originally from West Virginia, has been seen all over the Columbus area in neighborhoods and parks by music lovers or those just looking for entertainment to break up the monotony of life with COVID.
Freed spent months in 2020 performing much of the time as a volunteer in the back of pickup trucks as part the Curbside Concerts project. He played at more than 250 Curbside Concerts last year.
His public appearances continued this summer while performing at popup concerts in area metro parks that were sponsored by the Columbus Recreation and Parks Department.
The pop-up concerts have been a surprise to those in the parks and haven't been announced in advance. But the pop-ups will conclude this coming weekend and event officials made an exception and confirmed that people can hear Freed playing sometime between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturday at Linden Park, 1254 Briarwood Ave..
The soulful Freed got his start in music as a toddler when his mom married his step-father who was guitar player. Freed got his first guitar when he was 5 and started playing in a serious way by age 10.
His first live concert came his sophomore year in high school as part of a theater class concert. Freed only took the class because he had a crush on a girl (he still remembers her name) but ended up wowing 300 people at the school with a Stevie Ray Vaughan song.
“I never dreamed of being anything other than a musician,” he said. “Working hard to be a good guitar player shaped who I am today.”
He recorded his first album "Sinners & Saints" in 2006 and got a break after meeting famed Blues Traveler's' front man John Popper. The two formed a bond and Popper even played on the first album. Freed, who also plays the harmonica, would then go on to play around the nation, traveling with Blues Traveler and other well-known acts such as 38 Special.
But the constant traveling and grind of touring made it hard for Freed to balance his family life.
Freed, who has now recorded three albums, moved to Columbus in 2010 and started playing at festivals and other events around the state. He also found the confidence to play his original songs, something he struggled with for a while before approving audiences reassured him it was more than good enough.
“Playing live I tend to play covers that I feel everyone will enjoy while working in the original songs that will get a response,” he said. “I pride myself on connecting with the crowd and making everyone feel like they are part of the show.”
He has been married 16 years to his wife Ashley, who works as a nurse at The James Cancer Hospital at Ohio State University. They have three children, all boys, ages 2, 4, and 6.
Growing his career and making more income was Freed's goal for many years but changed soon after COVID hit and much of the world shut down. There were no concerts or public gatherings and people were desperately seeking an escape from quarantine life.
So Freed helped found the Curbside Concert project and climbed into the back of a pick-up truck over and over to give people what they were craving.
That same spirit has continued this summer with the pop-up concerts in the Metro Parks.
“There is so much going on in the world and so many pressures for people,” Freed said. “I just have tried to take their minds off it for a little bit. We will get through these tough times, I really believe that.” mwagner@dispatch.com @Mikewagner48