A parent’s life is forever changed when their child faces unexpected tragedy, especially when that catastrophe could have been prevented. That’s certainly the case for professional musician Mark Barden, whose life instantly changed when his son Daniel was murdered during the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in December 2012.

Barden subsequently vowed to do everything in his power to help prevent further gun violence, especially in schools. His journey is chronicled in the new documentary, A Father’s Promise.

Barden co-founded Sandy Hook Promise. The nonprofit organization was established in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in order to create gun violence prevention programs and changes in policy making.

The movie was directed by Rick Korn and executive produced by Sheryl Crow. While making the feature, the filmmakers worked with Artist For Action to Prevent Gun Violence, a coalition of artists, musicians and influencers who are taking action towards eliminating the epidemic of gun violence in America.

Barden and Korn, along with Artist For Artist co-founders Matthew Reich and Neal Saini, are working together to engage large groups of Americans to get involved and keep their communities safe. The platform is a non-political movement that is working to help prevent future tragedies.

A Father’s Promise chronicles how Barden is still contending with the loss of his son. Barden initially lost all interest in music after Daniel’s tragic death. He instead turned his attention to do everything in his power to help prevent gun violence so that no one else must go through what he and his family went through. The film follows him as he turned his tragedy into activism, and in doing so, rediscovered his lost passion for music.

The documentary features performances and interviews from Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks, Karen Fairchildof Little Big Town, Darryl DMC McDaniels, Bernie Williams and more. The movie also includes music by John Lennon, Bruce Springsteen, Van Morrison, Steve Winwood, David Shaw (The Revivalists) and others.

Barden, Kevin Bacon, Peter Frampton and Williams, who all appear in A Father’s Promise, took the time last week to advocate for the need for gun control in America during a press conference that was hosted by Korn at the NYU Skirball theater in Manhattan. The activists/entertainers spoke about making the film to help promote its release.

Q: Mark, one of the first things that really comes through in A Father’s Promise that’s really important is that gun violence needs to stop. Moving forward, what can people can do in their communities to help prevent gun violence?

Mark Barden: Well, first of all, we could not have made this film without the help of the awesome people at Sandy Hook Promise. We also couldn’t do all of this work without the support of all of you who are helping Sandy Hook Promise do this work.

You help us bring our work to communities and schools across the country, and not charge them for the incredible, life-saving programs that we can bring them. It’s the help from folks like you that help us continue to do this work, and achieve the incredibly successful outcomes that we’re still achieving. We only continue to get better as we move forward and grow.

We also appreciate everyone who helped us work on the film by investing their talent, time and passion into helping bring awareness to their fans.

I can’t articulate how special it is for all of us to be a part of the cause, and for Rick to bring his artistic vision to the film. That included emphasizing the concept of the power that music plays in healing, not only immediately after a devastating tragedy, but also in moving forward.

You all are bringing that message loud and clear, and I’m so honored to be a part of it. That’s a big deal for me, and is one of the things that’s on my mind right now. So I wanted to show my appreciation for that.

Q: Peter, you were down in Nashville almost a year ago, filming with Sheryl (Crow). A few months later, the shooting in Covington happened. Then, about a month ago, a young woman from New Jersey was shot at Belmont University in Nashville, which is a really great music school. Can you talk about your thoughts on gun violence, and why you got involved in the film?

Peter Frampton: Yes. Obviously, being part of the Nashville community for 12 years now, those events were devastating, as it is for every community where this happens.

I grew up in the UK, and we don’t have a Second Amendment there. I never really understood until I started living here in the U.S. what that means. It’s so hard with the Second Amendment – it’s translated so many ways, to how people want it to be translated for themselves, unfortunately.

But I think the most important thing for me was when, about 28 years ago – and I’ve posted about this a few times – in Dunblane, Scotland, two teachers and 15 children were killed in a mass shooting. Within days, the UK government then passed these laws. There was a buyback of guns. There’s only been one minor shooting in the south of England in the 28 years since.

But it just goes to prove that if we keep pushing for gun reform in every way we can, it can be done. New Zealand, Australia and around the world, there are similar gun reforms as in the UK. The U.S. is the only country in the world where this goes on this badly.

I don’t know how we go about bringing on similar changes as these other countries. But small groups of people getting together, and energetically trying to get as many gun reforms going, is so important.

Q: Bernie, we’re talking about what musical artists can do to prevent gun violence, but that also pertains to professional athletes. Musical artists are often the ones who jump in and help causes. Many do so because they have experienced something in the way they grew up, whether they were poor or abused. Can you talk about how that relates to athletes?

Bernie Williams: Yes. Well, first of all, it’s an honor to be here with you all. I was very blessed in my life to have a set of parents that did everything they could to keep me away from violence, so I’m very grateful for that.

I think that athletes are entertainers, as well, on many different levels. We have a platform to say things that are important to us, and to give back to the communities where we live.

We can try to make an impact. Whether I like it or not, what I have to say has value to, and resonates with, people. So that’s a huge responsibility to have. It’s a responsibility that I take seriously, as I try to make a difference. So I think it’s a no-brainer for me to be a part of a movement like this.

I could not fathom growing up in my school system thinking, am I going to get shot today? This is a thing that kids today have to think about. With all of the things that they have to do, and how difficult it is growing up, especially in high school, the farthest thing on your mind should be, am I going to get shot today?

So what we’re doing here today is a really important thing. I’m really glad to be a part of it, and I’m really hoping that we together can make some change in the way that everyone looks at this.

I don’t know what people on the different side of the argument of this are thinking. This should be a no-brainer.

Q: Kevin, you have children, and you’re obviously an actor and music artist. What can the actors’ community do to help in this cause, and how do you handle it as a father?

Kevin Bacon: I think part of what’s so frightening to me is this level of complacency that has overtaken us. When we read the paper, it’s no longer a shock that there’s a shooting, and that’s just fundamentally wrong.

I think we’re here to continue raising awareness about how to prevent gun violence. It’s not supposed to be this way.

I think that as a father, it’s even more of an important cause to work on. My kids are out of school now – they’re plus 30-year-olds.

Like Bernie said, I can’t imagine what it would be like when I was sending them off to school if I had to be worried about their safety on this kind of level. You worry about your kids on all levels, even though mine are over 30. They’re always in the back of my mind, as I worry that something’s going to go wrong.

Unfortunately, this is a political issue, which I don’t think it should be. This is about kids’ lives, so it makes no sense to politicize it.

It was a coincidence that I was doing a podcast recently and Mark was one of the guests. I was already coming here, so it was a coincidence that we also discussed this issue on the podcast.

To answer the question, I’m just echoing what Bernie said. If you have any kind of voice that people may listen to, you can’t just stop talking about this.

You have to find a way to voice your opinions on something that we’re hearing is clearly fixable, like Peter was saying, with the buy-backs and give-backs. Or whatever else it may happen to be, like background checks or bullet capacities. Whatever it is, why not give it a try? What’s the worst that can happen?

Q: Mark, it’s been 11 years since the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. Do you feel like the movement is growing?

Mark Barden: This is a huge, pervasive, complex problem. We’ve heard little nuggets about all of the things that we can be doing. Kevin and I have both used that word – complacency. The NRA is definitely complicit. I’ve always said that complacency is our biggest enemy, and we have the numbers to fight back.

We’ve heard all of these elements of what we can do. All of them are correct; there’s not one single thing. There are all kinds of policies, programs, conversations and engagements. When you consider that death by gunshot is the number one killer of young people, 19 and younger, in this country, it should be everyone’s number one issue in this country.

There are so many opportunities to help change things. Tell people in your network that this is important to you. It doesn’t mean that you have to give up all the guns – there are a lot of ways in. So it’s really inspiring to us that we can change things.

This movement is driven by tragedy. But we do have the numbers, so we can get on the other side of it. You can vote; volunteer with or donate to an organization that resonates with your values; and have conversations in your network. All of those things are things that we all can be doing. If you encourage people in your network to do all of those things, we can get on the other side of this.

A Father’s Promise is now playing in select theaters, including at LOOK Dine-In Cinemas W57 in New York City, courtesy of Abramorama.

Check out more of Karen Benardello’s articles.

Here’s the trailer of the film.