Rhythm as wellness. For every chapter of life.
The Mobile Music Lab brings evidence-based, rhythm-centered wellness programming to older adults, veterans, and the organizations that serve them. No musical experience required. No performance pressure. Just the proven power of making music together.
Who this is for
- Senior centers and independent living communities
- Assisted living and memory care facilities
- VA-affiliated programs and veteran service organizations
- American Legion and VFW posts
- Veteran reintegration and peer support programs
- Adult day programs and rehabilitation settings
- Intergenerational community wellness events
Our programs
HealthRHYTHMS Drum Circles
Led by trained facilitators using the evidence-based HealthRHYTHMS protocol developed by Remo, Inc., these sessions are specifically designed for adult populations navigating the challenges that come with aging, isolation, trauma, and transition.
Group drumming at this level isn’t recreational — it’s therapeutic. Research supports its effectiveness in improving mood, reducing feelings of isolation, supporting cognitive engagement, and creating genuine connection among participants. Every session is facilitated with both clinical grounding and human warmth.
No musical experience required. No physical dexterity beyond holding a mallet. Every participant who wants to be part of the circle can be part of the circle.
Veteran Wellness Sessions
Music has a long and documented relationship with trauma recovery, stress reduction, and community reintegration. Rhythm-based programming in particular — group, participatory, non-verbal in its core experience — creates a space where veterans can engage at their own level without pressure or performance expectation.
The Mobile Music Lab’s veteran wellness sessions are informed by lived experience. We have a United States Marine Corps veteran on our facilitator team who helps develop and lead programming for veteran populations — someone who understands the culture, the transitions, and what it means to walk into a room full of fellow veterans and ask them to pick up a drum.
These sessions are available for veteran service organizations, VA-affiliated programs, American Legion and VFW posts, peer support groups, and community reintegration programs throughout New Jersey and the Delaware Valley.
Wellness & Intergenerational Programs
Interactive music-making experiences designed for mixed-age groups, family visiting days, and community wellness events. Rhythm is a language that crosses generations, backgrounds, and experience levels. These sessions bring people together around something genuinely shared.
For facilities looking to add a food and nutrition component, our Healthy Choices program featuring Chef Tim Witcher is available as an add-on for larger events and health-focused programming days.
Grounded in evidence. Designed for dignity.
The HealthRHYTHMS facilitation protocol is the product of decades of research into the therapeutic applications of group drumming. Documented benefits include reduced cortisol levels, improved immune function markers, decreased feelings of social isolation, and increased positive affect among adult participants.
For veteran populations specifically, rhythm-based group programming has been explored as a complement to traditional therapeutic approaches — offering a non-clinical, community-centered space for stress reduction and peer connection.
Our facilitators bring both the clinical grounding and the human warmth that wellness programming requires. This is not a novelty act. It is a serious offering delivered with joy.
Residency and recurring programs
The Mobile Music Lab is available for one-time special events, monthly residency visits, and everything in between. Many of our senior community and veteran organization partners find that a recurring monthly or biweekly session becomes one of the most anticipated items on their programming calendar.
We’re happy to discuss a trial session before you commit to a longer arrangement. Let us come in once, watch your participants respond, and build from there.
Logistics
What we need from you: a room and your community.
We bring instruments sized and weighted appropriately for adult participants, facilitation materials, and everything needed to run a complete session. A multipurpose room, community hall, dining space, or outdoor area works well. Sessions typically run 45 to 60 minutes and can be adjusted for your schedule and population.
- Available for facilities throughout New Jersey, the Delaware Valley, and the broader Mid-Atlantic region
- Indoor and outdoor programs available Accessible for participants with limited mobility
- Staff, volunteers, and caregivers are welcome -- and encouraged -- to participate alongside residents and members
- Trial sessions available before committing to a recurring program
Residency and recurring programs
For grant writers and program administrators
Rhythm-based wellness programming sits at the intersection of several current funding priorities — including arts and health, veteran services, aging in place, and social isolation reduction. We are happy to provide program documentation, facilitator credentials, learning outcome frameworks, and letters of support for grant applications.
Contact us to discuss how our wellness programming can support your funding narrative.
What our clients say
Feedback Was Overwhelmingly Positive
“We’re always looking for programming that supports peer connection and stress reduction without putting veterans in a clinical context they didn’t sign up for. The Mobile Music Lab’s veteran wellness sessions do exactly that. Participation was higher than almost anything else we’ve offered, and the feedback afterward was overwhelmingly positive.”
Feedback Was Overwhelmingly Positive
“We’re always looking for programming that supports peer connection and stress reduction without putting veterans in a clinical context they didn’t sign up for. The Mobile Music Lab’s veteran wellness sessions do exactly that. Participation was higher than almost anything else we’ve offered, and the feedback afterward was overwhelmingly positive.”
Outreach Coordinator
Nobody Had To Explain Why
“A lot of wellness programming aimed at veterans misses the mark because it feels clinical or forced. This was neither. It was just a group of veterans making music together, led by someone who understood the room because he’s been in that room himself. Nobody had to explain why it worked. It just did.”
Nobody Had To Explain Why
“A lot of wellness programming aimed at veterans misses the mark because it feels clinical or forced. This was neither. It was just a group of veterans making music together, led by someone who understood the room because he’s been in that room himself. Nobody had to explain why it worked. It just did.”
Post Commander
Mobile Music Lab Met Our High Expectations
“Our residents are active, engaged, and have high expectations for their programming. The Mobile Music Lab met every one of them. What surprised me most was how quickly it became a community experience rather than just an activity — people were connecting with neighbors they’d never really spoken to before. We have it on our calendar every month now.”
Mobile Music Lab Met Our High Expectations
“Our residents are active, engaged, and have high expectations for their programming. The Mobile Music Lab met every one of them. What surprised me most was how quickly it became a community experience rather than just an activity — people were connecting with neighbors they’d never really spoken to before. We have it on our calendar every month now.”
Independent Living Program Director
Residents Who Rarely Respond Lit Up
“Working with memory care residents requires a facilitator who understands patience, presence, and how to meet people exactly where they are. The Mobile Music Lab team brought all of that. I watched residents who rarely respond to programming light up in ways I haven’t seen in months. Rhythm reaches people in a way that words sometimes can’t.”
Residents Who Rarely Respond Lit Up
“Working with memory care residents requires a facilitator who understands patience, presence, and how to meet people exactly where they are. The Mobile Music Lab team brought all of that. I watched residents who rarely respond to programming light up in ways I haven’t seen in months. Rhythm reaches people in a way that words sometimes can’t.”
Memory Care Program Coordinator
HealthRhythms Is Something Special
“I’ve brought in a lot of programming over the years, and I can tell within the first ten minutes whether it’s going to land. This landed immediately. Residents who typically sit on the sidelines were in the circle, playing, laughing, connecting with each other. The HealthRhythms approach is something special — and our residents felt it.”
HealthRhythms Is Something Special
“I’ve brought in a lot of programming over the years, and I can tell within the first ten minutes whether it’s going to land. This landed immediately. Residents who typically sit on the sidelines were in the circle, playing, laughing, connecting with each other. The HealthRhythms approach is something special — and our residents felt it.”
Senior Citizens Activities Director
Tell us about your organization and
let's talk about the right program.
Trial sessions available. We respond within one business day.
Prefer to reach us directly?
856.753.DRUM [3786] • info@mobilemusiclab.com
The Mobile Music Lab is a program of Jersey Surf, Inc. 465 E. Taunton Ave., Suite 202, West Berlin, NJ 08091
A New Jersey 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation JerseySurf.org