Concertwire.com

If you’re looking for reasons to love NEEDTOBREATHE, you probably aren’t falling short. The Seneca, South Carolina rock outfit has won fans for its honest vocals and positive message, and recently toured with superstar Taylor Swift. But fans were able to follow a different type of tour this December; after a partnership this fall with Palmetto Medical Initiative (PMI), the boys took a trip to Uganda to aid the effort first hand.

“Many of these patients can be helped with things as simple as clean water or Tylenol… things we completely take for granted in the United States,” drummer Joe Stilwell wrote on the band’s blog. “As heartbreaking as that is, their hope is inspirational.“

Although the band spent its days assisting the doctors and the medical staff, the members still immersed themselves in the culture and spirit of the small towns through what they know: music.

“At the end of the day Bear [Rinehart] and I played a few songs for them,” Stillwell wrote. “When we were done I asked if anyone could show me some African drumming. A couple of the men happily volunteered and started playing my drum (way better than I did.) As they played, some of the same people we had treated earlier in the day got up and started dancing. It was one of the best examples I've ever seen of hope in the face of adversity.”

On the heels of this inspiring trip, NEEDTOBREATHE will be continuing to spread joy through their music on tour dates throughout the US. You can catch them in Nashville, TN at the Ryman Auditorium on February 23 and February 24, in Knoxville at the Tennessee Theatre on March 1, and in Charleston, SC at the North Charleston PAC on March 3.