One Mind Music Festival for Brain Health: Everything You Need to Know

The annual One Mind Music Festival for Brain Health is held in September at Staglin Family Vineyard in Napa Valley. It brings together science and sizzle, when the brightest stars from mental health and entertainment converge for a great cause. We interviewed Brandon Staglin, President of One Mind, to learn more. 

How did the festival begin?

Brandon Staglin: The Music Festival for Brain Health was launched in 1995 by my parents, Shari and Garen Staglin, a few years after my schizophrenia diagnosis. Having learned from their experience as they assisted my recovery, they launched the event at their Napa Valley based Staglin Family Vineyard as a way to bridge the gaps that they saw in mental health research funding and patient support.

What can guests look forward to every year at the festival?

Brandon Staglin: Guests of the Music Festival for Brain Health enjoy a full day of inspiration, learning, and celebration. The event starts with the fascinating Scientific Symposium that includes the best and the brightest scientists as speakers, followed by the wine tasting reception with more than 70 of the world’s most acclaimed wineries, and the live concert that has hosted performers such as OneRepublic and Jennifer Hudson.

VIP guests enjoy an intimate outdoor 4-course meal paired with Staglin Family Vineyard wines followed by dancing under the stars. 

Tell us about some of the musical guests you have featured over the years?

Brandon Staglin: The genres of the musicians have varied, but their support for the cause has stayed true. Past performers include Sheryl Crow, OneRepublic, Lyle Lovett, Jennifer Hudson, Jewel, Melissa Etheridge, Gladys Night, Pat Benatar, Michael Franti, Tim McGraw and many more.   

Tell us about the information shared annually at the scientific symposium.

Brandon Staglin: Each year, the scientific symposium brings in some of the brightest minds in science to discuss some of the most cutting-edge developments toward improving mental healthcare. Recent presenters include Dr. Regina E. Dugan, President & CEO of Wellcome Leap, Dr. Victor Dzau, President, National Academy of Medicine, Dr. Tom Insel, former Director of the National Institute of Mental Health, Dr. John Krystal, Chair of Psychiatry at the Yale School of Medicine. The One Mind Rising Star Award winners for each respective year also present about their funded research studies. 

The event features one of the best wine tastings of the year. How many vintners participate?

Brandon Staglin: Each year, the wine tasting reception features more than 70 premier vintners from not only Napa Valley, but Sonoma, Paso Robles, Washington, and Oregon  pouring the best of their wines paired with bites from an acclaimed chef. Vintners volunteer their time and amazing wines to help us raise money and awareness for our cause.

What are some of the top successes that stemmed from the ongoing festival funds?

Brandon Staglin: On the strength of Music Festival for Brain Health funds, One Mind can tell a decades-long story of evolving success to improve the lives of youth facing serious mental illness. In the early 2000s, One Mind launched a large international study that developed the tools for clinical scientists to predict whether any given high-risk patient will develop psychosis within two years with 70% accuracy. Using these tools, the National Institute of Mental Health is now leading an even bigger international partnership to lay the groundwork to develop the first-ever medicines to prevent psychosis before it begins. Likely within my lifetime, such treatments may help at-risk youth around the world circumvent the scary and debilitating outcomes that could otherwise be in store, and stride on, freely, through successful lives, I am so proud of One Mind’s ongoing leadership in this field, including through participation in this partnership.

What would you like more people to know about the festival?

Brandon Staglin: The guests who attend the Music Festival for Brain Health each year are incredibly passionate and engaged. We see their interest in supporting mental health both through the incredible amount of money they contribute, as well as the welcoming and inclusive environment they help create. Personal, heartfelt lived experience stories are the norm as are newly created life-long friendships.   It’s a day of hope, inspiraton and amazing wines, science and music.  What better way to have fun while doing good.  Please join us!  For details and ticket information please visit: www.music-festival.org