Today we’d like to introduce you to Luke Putney
Hi Luke, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I’m the Founder/President of Instrumental Horizons, a nonprofit organization based in Nashville. It’s my goal to get musical instruments, music therapy and music education to people, and especially kids, in challenging financial or medical situations. I have been volunteering, organizing events giving away musical instruments and involved in music therapy and education for over a decade. I have supported organizations like WO Smith in Nashville, Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St, Petersburg, Florida, The Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix, Arizona, MusicWorks in Cape Town South Africa, and public schools in Santa Rosa del Sur, Colombia, South America to name a few.
Music changed my life at an early age. When I was a kid, recovering from brain surgery, and figuring out how to live as a blind person, I attended Victor Wooten’s Bass/Nature Camp here in Tennessee. Victor’s influence was amazing, and it wasn’t just about music and playing the bass. Victor Wooten is one of the kindest and most inspiring human beings on the planet. To this day, Vic encourages me and even assists on some of my projects with Instrumental Horizons.
HERE ARE SOME QUOTES FROM MY WEBSITE THAT MAY BE WORTH REPEATING:
“For as long as I can remember, it has been my dream to put musical instruments into the hands of people whose lives could be forever changed.”
“Imagine what might happen to sick kids, hospitalized for months, who suddenly have a guitar or piano in their hands and a music therapist to help them express their experiences through music. Imagine a previously war-torn country where children no longer need weapons to defend themselves… What might happen if we exchanged their weapons for musical instruments? These are things we are already doing through Instrumental Horizons. ”
“What’s next for Instrumental Horizons? Music in hospice? Music for the incarcerated? I want to be a thoughtful citizen of the world, a bridge builder. I want to bring about understanding between cultures. I want to be an effective, long-term contributor in the communities I encounter. I believe that music has the power to change the world.”
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I thought that I was done with brain surgery and that my only challenge in life was going to be operating as a blind guy. As a college kid, I moved to Nashville and I was very fortunate to get a scholarship to Belmont University where I studied commercial music performance and officially formed my charity, Instrumental Horizons.
Unfortunately, right after I graduated from Belmont and finished my first international humanitarian mission trip to Colombia, South America, I experienced another major medical interruption in in my life. I had a terrible headache, and much to my surprise I was hospitalized due to a brain tumor, stroke and seizures. I ended up having nine surgeries, 48 days in intensive care, 99 days of inpatient hospital days and several years of rehabilitation. I had to learn how to swallow, talk, sit up, stand up and walk, all over again. It has taken years. I am still in therapy years later, but today I am out of my wheelchair and walking, and now I am back working in my previous role as President of Instrumental Horizons.
I am however, still praying to get feeling back in my left hand so that I could play bass and guitar again. That, along with chronic pain, are the most difficult things I have to deal with on a daily basis. But it doesn’t stop me.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
In addition to running Instrumental Horizons, I am still putting out some of the music I began to record while I was at Belmont. Most recently, I finished a track called “Weeping Willow.” It is a song I composed with lyrics written from the Native American perspective. I had previously recorded the guitar, bass and vocals, but never completely finished the arrangement. In February of 2025, I decided to add authentic Native American instrumentation to the track. I hired the Florida-based band “Painted Raven,” a group consisting of three awesome women who added Native American flute and percussion to the track. “Weeping Willow” (by Luke Putney) will soon be available on streaming services like Apple Music, Spotify, Pandora, etc. The publisher for this track is my charity, Instrumental Horizons. It is my hope to use this project to support Native American cultural awareness and music education.
The concept of finishing my previous solo work by bringing in other musicians is something I also did on my song “Cape Town (I Miss Africa)” a few years ago. While I had previously recorded vocals and guitar on that track, I was able to finish the song with the help of Bakithi Kumalo (South African bassist for Paul Simon), Bob Franceschini (Sax for Paul Simon and many more), Jeff Coffin (Sax for Dave Matthews Band and Bela Fleck and the Flecktones), Derico Watson (drummer for Victor Wooten), South African trumpeter Darren English, and Nashville’s alternate percussionist Brad Covington. Victor Wooten helped by producing the session at Ocean Way Studios here in Nashville.
We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
I feel like I am the luckiest, and most unlucky person on earth.
I am surrounded by the most talented and kind friends that any man could have. I feel blessed by God. However, blindness, brain tumor, stroke, seizures, chronic pain in my right hand, no feeling in my left hand and arm, and many other symptoms make me wonder why I am faced with so many physical challenges.
Maybe it’s so that I can inspire others to face their lives with more optimism.
It has always been my goal to shatter the perceptions of the disabled. I’ve tried to be successful in the things I do, so that people say: ‘Hey, he’s disabled and he’s still succeeding!’
I want to be an inspiration to people who have doubt in themselves. I love supporting people–and especially kids–who need my help.
Pricing:
- Donations of any amount welcome
Contact Info:
- Website: www.instrumentalhorizons.com and www.lukeputney.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/putneyluke/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/luke.putney.1
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@lukeputney4094
