Wrapping up tonight, with more entertainment, most people move through an airport with their eyes on the clock, chasing gates, carrying bags, and thinking about where they have to be next.

But at Charlotte Douglas for 23 years now, volunteer pianists have been offering something a little different.

A pause, a melody, and a little grace in the middle of the chaos.

Carolina Impact's Chris Clark tells us more.

- [Chris] On screen, a piano can do almost anything, could turn a toy store into a playground.

(moderate music) It can shake a room loose with a little rock and roll.

♪ Goodness gracious, great balls of fire ♪ - [Chris] It can bring back a memory someone trying to leave behind.

- Play it, Sam.

Play "As Time Goes By".

♪ You must remember this ♪ ♪ A kiss is just a kiss ♪ - [Chris] But at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, the piano doesn't need a movie scene, just needs a traveler with a minute to listen.

- When she started playing, I was over there and I thought, that's awesome.

I just thought, that's awesome.

We're tired.

It's relaxing.

- [Chris] For decades, volunteer piano players have been part of the rhythm here.

They don't always know who needs the music, they just sit down and play.

- When I was tall enough to reach the keys, that's when I first started and I haven't stopped since then.

- [Chris] Emily doesn't just play a list, she watches the room first.

- Have you been through Charlotte before?

- I have.

I have.

- Yeah?

I come in to match the mood of what I notice around me.

- [Chris] Travelers do leave money on the piano, but the notes that mean the most to Emily aren't folded into the jar.

They're written in a book she keeps nearby.

- You know what one of the best tips is I've ever gotten?

"You don't know what a difference your music has made in my life today.

I just lost a loved one."

- [Chris] And that book isn't the only place Emily sees what music can unlock.

(upbeat music) Away from the terminal, she plays for seniors where a familiar song can reach places conversations can't.

- They may have come in and not said a word all day, but she play that song and they will, you'll see a totally different person.

- [Chris] Emily has seen one song changed the room.

- When that music took place and I started playing and singing it, it was like something lit up within him that they had not seen in years.

- [Chris] At the airport, the setting changes, the search doesn't.

Find the song that reaches someone.

Ron Brown learned that on a different road through clubs, oldie shows, and stages with musicians whose names still make people turn their heads.

- I was very fortunate.

I used to play with the Temptations, I played with a couple of oldies groups.

I've been on stage with Chuck Berry.

- [Chris] Music wasn't some grand plan, it just kept opening the next door.

- I was on the road, I started playing my first club at 13 years old.

It was just something that evolved.

- [Chris] At Charlotte Douglas, the stage just looks different.

- I didn't realize how much fun it was.

You know, I treat this as this is a lot of fun.

- The request changed by the crowd, Sinatra, Alicia Keys, "Piano Man", Ron learned somewhere in time because people kept asking.

And then one day, the leading lady found her melody.

- Jane Seymour come floating up to the piano.

(laughs) She says, "Oh, that's from my movie."

I said, "Wow, I better learn how to play.

I better play it right then."

You know what I mean?

(stirring music) - [Chris] After all those years on stage, Ron still says the airport can surprise him.

He may know the song he's playing, but he doesn't always know the story walking toward the piano.

- Never know what effect I have on people.

I'm just playing.

- [Chris] Then someone stops and the music suddenly has a history.

- People come up to me, they say, "Oh, that's my grandmother's favorite song, and it just came from her funeral."

Or, "That was our wedding song."

- [Chris] That's what keeps him at the keys.

- I like to be able to bring joy to people if I can.

- [Chris] The piano bench draws all kinds of musicians, including Josh King, who may look familiar to some viewers.

♪ That don't matter anymore ♪ - [Chris] He's already had the lights, the cameras, and the national audience.

- Watched you on "American Idol".

- Really?

- It's awesome.

- Thank you.

- But this stage asks for something quieter.

- There's a difference 'cause one crowd is infinitely hyped up more, and one crowd is a little more irritated.

(Josh laughs) - [Chris] After the spotlight, this is a different kind of performance, less about being watched, more about changing the room.

- Most people here, they're just, they're passing, they're listening to the music in the moment, and it's kind of a background.

It helps build ambiance to the atmosphere.

- [Chris] And for a few minutes, the terminal becomes more than a place to pass through.

- It's always a goal of mine that each and every time I come in to play, that I make people's days better in whatever way that is, whether it's the music, whether it's the conversation.

- [Chris] At Charlotte Douglas, most people are only passing through.

The flights, faces, and destinations all change, but for decades, these volunteer piano players have offered something steady in the middle of it all, a familiar song, a lighter moment, and a reason to smile before the next flight.

For "Carolina Impact", I'm Chris Clark.