Once-homeless blues guitarist holds DC show to benefit unhoused, disabled veterans

Guitarist Memphis Gold, a Vietnam veteran who served in the Navy for 14 years doesn’t just play the blues — he lived them, when he was homeless in the nation’s capital. Now, he’s helping others who find themselves in similar situations.

“I was on the streets from 1991 till 1995,” Gold told WTOP in an interview. “There are a lot of hurting people out there on the streets.”

On Saturday, Gold’s nonprofit, Building Bridges America, will hold a fundraiser, “DMV Concert for Homeless and Disabled Veterans,” at the Warner Theatre in Northwest D.C., featuring an all-star lineup of blues musicians, and hosted by NBC Washington’s Mark Segraves.

“Street survival is something you have to be ready for, because it’s very challenging,” Gold said. “You have to find where to eat, where to bathe, where to get your clothes — it’s an ongoing job out there, just taking care of yourself on a daily basis.”

Gold said while he was living on the street and staying in shelters, many people experiencing homelessness were also mentally ill.

“There was a lot of mental illness, and some of those same people are still out there,” he said.

Gold said he was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder in the early 1990s when he returned from military service.

“A lot of vets, they … don’t have jobs to associate with the jobs that they had in the military,” Gold said.

With his wife, Gold had long hoped to hold a benefit to help other disabled veterans who have experienced homelessness.

He said the recent clearing of homeless encampments by the Trump administration focused attention on the cycle of homelessness.

“People collect a lot of things that they need, whatever they have to put in those little tents,” Gold said. When you’re “uprooted from your normal day, and have nothing, you just have to start all over.”

Gold recalled visiting businesses and “taking a bird bath” in the restroom, in an attempt to maintain a sharp appearance.

“I had a lot of pride, so I didn’t want too many people to know I was homeless,” he said.

Now, with a stable home life, Gold hopes a night of music will help uplift those who need it.

“(The blues) is not just a style of music, but it’s a way of living. Living on the streets was, for me, quite an experience of living the blues,” he said.

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