Life of Gus Deeds celebrated with music

Remembering Gus Faculty, staff, students and community members gathered at the Lake Matoaka Amphitheatre on April 6 to celebrate the life of Gus Deeds '14 with music. Photo by Erin Zagursky

Remembering Gus The Runaway String Band performs during the memorial concert at the amphitheatre. Photo by Erin Zagursky

Remembering Gus W&M alumna Elizabeth LaPrelle ’09 performs during the concert. Since graduating from W&M, LaPrelle has given concerts across the country and world, including Ireland and Uzbekistan. Photo by Erin Zagursky

Remembering Gus Members of the W&M Appalachian Music Ensemble performs during the concert. Photo by Erin Zagursky

Remembering Gus Members of Friends of Appalachian Music (FOAM), a group that originated at W&M, performs during the concert. Photo by Erin Zagursky

Remembering Gus Associate Professor Jamie Bartlett introduced the performers at the concert. Photo by Erin Zagursky

Remembering Gus Two W&M students perform a sea shanty during the concert. Photo by Erin Zagursky

Remembering Gus All of the performers gather on stage for the final song of the concert, "I'll Fly Away." Photo by Erin Zagursky

Remembering Gus Students with the W&M Appalachian Music Ensemble sing "I'll Fly Away." Photo by Erin Zagursky

by Erin Zagursky | April 7, 2014

Austin “Gus” Deeds ‘14 was remembered as a brilliant young musician who was often seen with a banjo in his hand and a smile on his face as he played.

On Sunday, the faculty, staff and students of the William & Mary Department of Music celebrated the life of Gus Deeds in the best way they knew how: with a concert of the Appalachian music he loved.

Dozens of members of the William & Mary and Williamsburg communities gathered in the Lake Matoaka Amphitheatre for the event, which included performances by The Runaway String Band, Friends of Appalachian Music (FOAM), the W&M Appalachian Music Ensemble and W&M alumna Elizabeth LaPrelle ’09. Associate Professor Jamie Bartlett emceed the concert, and W&M President Taylor Reveley and Deeds’ father, Virginia Sen. Creigh Deeds, offered brief remarks.

Creigh Deeds recalled his son’s search for a college, saying that Gus Deeds had chosen William & Mary because of its open spaces and proximity to the woods.

“So I know he was probably thinking about this spot right here, and I’m sure he’s with us right now,” said Creigh Deeds, the emotion audible in his voice.

Last November, Gus Deeds -- who had left the university and, according to press reports, was struggling with bipolar depression -- attacked his father before taking his own life at the family’s home. The case has generated national media attention, and Creigh Deeds has been using that attention to highlight the need for mental health reform in Virginia.

“The death of a person for whom we care deeply is always hard to bear, and the death of Gus Deeds – a vibrant young man of great past accomplishment and enormous future potential – was a particularly wrenching blow,” said Reveley. “Gus’ time with us at William & Mary was too short, but during it he formed deep and lasting ties with many on our campus, and Gus will always be a member of William & Mary’s Class of 2014.”

As the musicians played on the Lake Matoaka stage, sunlight sparkled on the water behind them and warmed the concertgoers as they tapped their toes along with the sounds of fiddles, banjos, mandolins and guitars – all instruments that Gus Deeds played.

As the concert drew to a close, the musicians took the stage together and the audience stood to sing one last song: “I’ll Fly Away.”

“It’s good to gather and listen to colleagues from his musical family play, and it’s good to hear Gus in their music and remember his smile,” said Reveley.