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Musician rides across America raising money for other musicians who can't play during COVID

Starting in New York City and ending in Los Angeles, Nate Cook is riding to help raise money for Sweet Relief.

AUSTIN, Texas — Editor's note: To donate to the GXAX Ride, you can click here

One of the industries that was hit harder than most by the pandemic was the music industry.

The industry that Austin knows well is now being helped by a musician who's hoping to help those who can't perform right now. 

A musician's life is changed when they pick up an instrument.

Nate Cook knows what it means for musicians when they can't do what they love.

"When the coronavirus really took full-force last March, I had a couple of opportunities [that] carried me through almost the entire thing, but I know a few of my musician friends that didn't have it go that way for them," said Cook, the frontman for The Yawpers and a solo musician as well. "So, I wanted to do something to give back." 

Cook found his way to raise money for others in need.

"During the shutdown, I kind of discovered cycling is something I really enjoy doing, and it seemed like a way to marry something I like doing with something that I wanted to do," Cook explained about his nationwide bike ride. "I'm raising money by essentially increasing awareness." 

Cook's ride is called the GXAX Ride. He's riding from Manhattan, New York, all the way to Los Angeles. He's raising awareness for the charity, Sweet Relief.

"So Sweet Relief is an organization that's been around for 15 to 20 years now," Cook explained. "But they came into their own last year during the coronavirus, when they had the infrastructure available to start kicking out relief to every musician on the planet who couldn't work." 

That's why Cook is riding ... hoping people donate to the online fundraiser. Along the way in certain cities, he was playing shows to raise even more money. All of the show's profits are given directly to Sweet Relief. 

"The route, so far, I started in Manhattan," Cook explained. "Initially, the plan was to play aside concerts in select cities: Chicago, New York, Tulsa, Dallas, Austin, Phoenix and Los Angeles"

But as Cook made it into Texas, things changed. Spikes in COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths caused him to re-look at the shows. 

"Mohawk is maybe one of my favorite places to play in the entire country, so not getting to play this time has been a real bummer," Cook said. "Yeah, so that was a real letdown. We'll see what happens." 

Now the shows will have to wait, but he's continuing his ride, hoping to catch people's attention. Cook still hopes that his music can help change others musicians' lives.

Cook's sponsors that helped him along the way are: Sierra Nevada, GoPro, Chipotle, Reckon Records and District Bicycles. He also said Cycleast in Austin helped him while he was in town. 

To donate to the GXAX Ride, you can click here

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