Jason Newsted Plays Music for Animals at Wildlife Sanctuary

Jason Newsted played music for animals at a wildlife sanctuary and it’s definitely the best thing you’ll see today.

The rocker has been busy gearing up for his upcoming headlining tour with The Chophouse Band, which will kick off July 1. Between prepping for the run, recovering from throat cancer and unboxing Metallica‘s forthcoming Reload box set reissue, Newsted also made time to perform some tender music for animals at Florida’s Busch Wildlife Sanctuary.

The organization shared a montage of clips of Newsted playing an acoustic guitar and singing to various animals on social media yesterday (May 6) and his cover of John Lennon‘s “Imagine” played over the video.

“At Busch Wildlife Sanctuary, enrichment is an important part of providing exceptional care for our animal ambassadors — and recently, they experienced something truly unforgettable. We were honored to welcome former Metallica bassist Jason Newsted to the Sanctuary for a very special live music enrichment session,” the sanctuary wrote in the post.

“Jason performed calming live music for several of our resident ambassadors, creating a unique sensory experience designed to stimulate curiosity, reduce stress and encourage natural behaviors. Every animal responds differently and it was incredible to watch their individual reactions to the sounds and rhythms throughout the session!”

The sanctuary is located in Newsted’s hometown of Jupiter and according to the last paragraph of the post’s caption, the musician and his wife Nicole have been supporting the organization for some time. Donations to the sanctuary can be submitted online through their website.

See the clip below.

Newsted’s love for animals isn’t new — he grew up on a farm in Michigan and had to care for a lot of the livestock, which meant he saw a lot of them get killed.

“Now, I don’t do as good with that. I’ve got more difficult time when an animal is sick, I’ve got more difficult time when I see blood on an animal. It’s not as easy as it used to be. I’ve got more compassion for animals that I’ve ever had,” he said in a 2013 interview.