This month, the Ultimate Ears Artist to Watch program features a breakout band from Denmark, A pop star from the Netherlands and a student from the University of Louisville's Marching Band. The sounds of Oh No Ono are rich and made for headphones and they were recently named by WIRED Magazine one of the top 10 bands to see at SXSW. The pop tunes of Miss Montreal shine a light on global pop and the story of Patrick Henry Hughes is nothing short of inspirational.

Born without eyes and with a disease that left his limbs crippled, Patrick found music as his outlet and has shown with his gift ever since. I first heard of Patrick when a friend sent me his ESPN video. I couldn’t believe what I saw. The music went right through him. But even more illuminating was his sense of presence and inspiration.

I had the chance to talk wit Patrick and I will never forget what he said. I called him because I was going through a hard time and I thought that maybe some of his magic would rub off. He said to me that there are always 2 things to consider – the first is that you need to count your blessings. There is love in your life, there is food on your table and there is a roof overhead – and this is way more than so many people on this earth. So how bad can things really be… The second thing to keep in mind is that whatever adversary you are going through, your heroes have gone through something much worse.

What powerful words. It must have been the music talking. Thank you Patrick for so many reasons.