On behalf of Herbie Hancock, Newport Festivals Foundation with the help of Korg Education has made an instrument donation to the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz. Students study, rehearse, compose and perform throughout the year under the guidance of Institute Distinguished Professor Herbie Hancock and Artists-in-Residence such as @Christian McBride, Terri Lyne Carrington, Billy Childs, Chris Potter and many others.

On behalf of all of this year’s For Pete’s Sake artists, we’ve made a donation to Bodecker Foundation‘s music education programs for middle and high school students in Portland, OR. Led by professional musicians, engineers, and producers, the Foundation’s hands-on, immersive workshop experiences include access to Halfling Studio, an on-site, state-of-the-art recording facility managed by Chris Funk (The Decemberists), the Bodecker Foundation’s creative director and long-time curator of For Pete’s Sake.

Newport Festivals Foundation has made a donation to the band program at Jason’s alma mater, Rogers High School, in Florence, Alabama. The current Band Director, John McCombs, was the band director while Jason was in high school. The funds from this donation will go to buy new sheet music and provide students with instruments.

Newport Festivals Foundation has made a donation to The Holland Project to fund their Girls Rock Reno (GRR) program – a music instruction and performance summer camp and series of workshops for young women ages 9-17 in Reno, Nevada. Funds will help enable Holland to purchase materials for upcoming workshops and camp, as well as provide scholarships for low-income students and stipends for music instructors, band leaders, and organizers for GRR.

Newport Festivals Foundation has made a donation on behalf of James Mercer to Portland Meet Portland’s Pass the Mic, which offers free music education for immigrant and refugee youth ages 14 and up in Portland, OR.

Newport Festivals Foundation has made a donation on their behalf to United Sound to provide musical experiences for students with special needs through peer mentorship. This donation will pay for startup costs for a new public school chapter of United Sound in Rhode Island. This funding will cover teacher training, startup student training materials, monthly student training meetings, curriculum, method books, flash cards, t shirts, bracelets, and more throughout the year.

Newport Festivals Foundation has made a donation on behalf of Portugal. the Man to support Dancing with the Spirit – connecting youth and elders through school music programs in Alaska. Funds will be used to bring two Dancing with the Spirit staff, two Portugal. The Man band members and a small plane load of guitars, fiddles, and ukuleles to Tyonek, Alaska for a week to teach music and dancing in the school.  Tyonek is a small Native community across Cook Inlet from Anchorage, which can only be reached by plane or boat.

Newport Festivals Foundation has made a donation on behalf of Kevin Morby to Believe In Music to build 25 individual work stations, with studio quality headphones and state of the art music composition software. That equipment will help Believe In Music start at a new school in the fall.

Newport Festivals Foundation has made a donation on his behalf to The Angel Band Project to provide life-affirming music therapy programs for survivors of sexual assault and intimate partner violence.  Music therapy gives a voice to survivors and allows them to safely work through their trauma by exploring music interventions such as songwriting, lyric analysis, drumming, and spontaneous music making.

Newport Festivals Foundation has made a donation on behalf of SUSTO to Carolina Studios to provide children with the tools and skills to learn how to record and produce music. The funds will be used to replace a student workstation in our mobile recording studio. These stations are used by students to create their own soundtracks. Each station uses one 24” iMac workstation. 

Newport Festivals Foundation has made a donation on behalf of The Highwomen to She Is The Music. In January 2018, the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative released a study on the music industry revealing a six-year low for female creators in popular music. She Is The Music actively seeks to close this gap by increasing opportunity and visibility for women currently working in music, as well as developing the next generation of women to join the industry and seek leadership roles. With this generous donation, She Is The Music will be able to host more of their successful all-female writing camps, as well as help fund forthcoming mentorship program.

Newport Festivals Foundation has made a donation on behalf of the Cook brothers to BUMP: The Triangle. When BUMP: The Triangle held a pilot program for Ubuntu Music Academy last spring, the twenty-five musical instruments donated by generous community members desperately needed cleaning and repair. Damon “Dr. Bass” Walker, owner of Dr. Bass String Instruments, graciously donated the repair of the string instruments. Even though funding had not yet been identified, Dr. Bass arranged for the brass and woodwind repairs and discounted the room rental rates at his studio for the pilot program. The Newport Festivals Foundation’s generous donation enabled BUMP to pay Dr. Bass in full and close out the invoice.

Newport Festivals Foundation has made a donation on behalf of Jupiter & Okwess to Guitars not Guns to provide guitars and lessons to foster children and at-risk youth. All funds will be used to purchase guitars for students. Students are provided with a beginner guitar, strap, tuner, gig-bag and an instruction book.  Once they complete all lessons they take a test – students that pass the test get to keep their assigned guitar. 

Newport Festivals Foundation has made a donation on behalf of Warren to Little Kids Rock to support their Modern Band programs in public schools throughout New York City. Modern Band teaches kids to perform, improvise and compose using the popular styles that they know and love including rock, pop, reggae, hip hop, R & B and other modern styles.

Newport Festivals Foundation has made a donation on behalf of Noname to Street Poets Inc.. This grant will be used to bring West African drummers and percussionists from their sister organization Rhythm Arts Alliance into creative collaboration with their poets and mc’s as they develop and record pieces for their annual summer Poetry in Motion van tour of L.A. streets, parks and projects. 

Newport Festivals Foundation has made a donation on behalf of Benmont to support Tipitina’s Foundation. This donation will enable the Foundation to continue their youth music intern program – a program which has successfully equipped the musicians of tomorrow with the skill set and support needed for a music career.

Newport Festivals Foundation has made a donation on Joey and Kenneth’s behalf to Stax Music Academy. The funds will be used to provide high quality after school music programming to deserving students from Memphis and the mid south. Donations allow the purchase and repair of instruments as well as allowing us to highlight the students during four major public performances each year.

Newport Festivals Foundation has made a donation on his behalf to Greater Denton Arts Council (Denton, TX) to support their Summer Guitar Camp for kids ages 6-14. Funds will be used to offer scholarships for students from low-income families and purchase more guitars, tuners, footstools and craft supplies to accommodate larger camp sizes. 

Newport Festivals Foundation has made a donation on behalf of Adia to Jessi Zazu Inc. to provide a songwriting class for at risk children – supporting the students as they learn the craft of songwriting and teaching them how to record their original song for demo submission.  Each child will leave the workshop with a recorded demo.

Newport Festivals Foundation has made a donation on behalf of Matthew to Nuçi’s Space. The donation will allow Nuçi’s Space to provide 3 Full Camp Amped Scholarships (2-week program) and 1 Partial Camp Amped After School Scholarship (1-week program) to students in need of financial help. Students will learn how to be in a band, write songs and perform as a group. In addition to music classes, Nuci’s Space will conduct Survival Skills Sessions to educate students about the importance of mental health.

Newport Festivals Foundation has made a donation on behalf of Black Belt Eagle Scout to Rock ‘n’ Roll Camp for Girls to help support their efforts to honor the hard work and talent of their teaching artists by providing them with a stipend for their work during the summer camp program. Their community of working musicians gives their time each summer to teach campers bass, drums, guitar, and vocals, so they can form a band, write an original song, and experience the empowerment of performing on stage at a local Portland venue.

Newport Festivals Foundation has made a donation on behalf of Illiterate Light to the Harrisonburg High School Band Program. This donation will underwrite scholarships for students – from band camp for rising ninth graders and current high school students to college scholarships for seniors leaving for universities.

Newport Festivals Foundation has made a donation on behalf of Our Native Daughters to Kidznotes. Kidznotes engages students pre-K through 12th grade in an intense out-of-school musical program. With NFF’s donation, Kidznotes will be able to provide a high-quality student-sized double bass for shared use by multiple students, further fostering their love for music.

Newport Festivals Foundation has made a donation on behalf of The O’My’s to Young Chicago Authors (YCA). YCA hosts a free, weekly program where young Hip-hop artists can come to make beats and write bars, building community with other up-and-coming musicians. Emcee Wreckshop is hosted every Saturday by Chicago-based rappers and educators, Add-2 and Defcee. The grant from the Newport Festivals Foundation will support artist fees and production of the Wreckshop Mixtape, featuring the students’ final compositions.

Newport Festivals Foundation has made a donation on behalf of Sheryl to Adopt a Classroom. The funds from this donation will go to a high school in Sheryl’s hometown, Kennett, Missouri – allowing Kennett High School’s band program to update existing sound/recording system within the band room. With this new equipment, Kennett will be able to record and have evaluative discussions about music and how to improve students’ overall performance.

Newport Festivals Foundation has made a donation on behalf of the band to Preservation Hall Foundation to support their Workshops, Masterclasses, and Open Soundchecks program. These programs connect students from across the U.S. with musicians from Preservation Hall to support their growth in Jazz. From workshops and masterclasses in schools to free Open Soundchecks when the Preservation Hall Jazz Band is on the road, these experiences are crucial in providing students with a direct connect with master jazz practitioners.

Newport Festivals Foundation has made a donation on behalf of Nilüfer to Buffalo String Works. Funds will be used towards supporting their brand new double bass program. By adding another bass to their instrument library, we will be able to open up a spot to a new student to join their vibrant, inclusive student body of refugee and immigrant children.

Newport Festivals Foundation has made a donation on behalf of Parker to Music Makes Us in order to purchase 30 soprano ukuleles for the music students at Thomas A. Edison Elementary. Ms. Marie Morris serves as one of two music teachers at the school and has requested the instruments so that her upper elementary students can experience the joy of playing string instruments. Thomas Edison is a Title I school with a very diverse student population that speaks 21 languages.

Newport Festivals Foundation has made a donation on behalf of Lucy to JAMinc to support JAMinc’s school outreach efforts. Since 2004 JAMinc has taken studio concert artists to public schools with more than 90,000 students served so far. This donation will be used to underwrite the instructor fees JAMinc provides each artist.

In partnership with The Mockingbird Foundation, Newport Festivals Foundation has made a donation on Trey’s behalf to support the music program at Mt. Pleasant High School in Providence, RI. Mt. Pleasant is an ethnically diverse learning community where most students are the first of their families to receive formal music education, and NFF’s donation and Mockingbird’s match will be used to purchase musical instruments for their students to play.

Newport Festivals Foundation has made a donation on Yola’s behalf to Youth Empowerment through Arts and Humanities (YEAH!). Funding will go straight towards YEAH!’s Scholarship Fund which helps send youth to Rock Camps and other programming. Over 60% of participating youth attend on scholarship and no camper has ever been turned away due to lack of funds. The funding directly supports YEAH!’s mission to build a culture of positive self-esteem and collaboration among girls and gender non-conforming youth while building community through music.

Newport Festivals Foundation has made a donation on behalf of Stephen Marley to support Ghetto Youths Foundation. Founded by Stephen, Damian and Julian Marley, GYF is dedicated to providing aid and resources, support and opportunity to communities in need across the globe. The funds provided by Newport Festivals Foundation will be used to support access to quality music education for young people, underlining GYF’s deep belief in the universal power of the performing arts to transform young lives.

Newport Festivals Foundation has made a donation on behalf of Dawes to Silverlake Conservatory of Music to provide scholarships to children whose families would otherwise be unable to afford weekly private lessons, instruments, supplies and group class enrollment.

Newport Festivals Foundation has made a donation on behalf of Amy to Georgia Pick & Bow. Pick and Bow preserves Appalachian music by offering affordable instruction to students in grades 4 through 12. Newport Festivals Foundation’s donation will go towards scholarships to help fund those students who cannot afford to pay full tuition or in some cases, any tuition at all.

Newport Festivals Foundation has made a donation on Maggie’s behalf to The Girls Electronic Music Stars (GEMS) summer program at NYU – a 2-week experience for middle school girls ages 10-12. The generous grant will be used to sponsor 10 girls’ tuition to attend the program. Girls will be given the scholarship to attend the program based on declared need for financial assistance.

Newport Festivals Foundation has made a donation on behalf of J.S. Ondara to The Minnesota Music Coalition (MMC). This donation will help fund educational programs that teach musicians valuable and relevant skills such as sound, lighting, music business management and more.

Newport Festivals Foundation has made a donation on behalf of Ruston to purchase new instruments for Face The Music’s Grace Note Project – a music-centric program that provides musicians newly in recovery a vehicle to give back.

Newport Festivals Foundation has made a donation on behalf of Rayland to Creede High School in Colorado to purchase materials needed to grow Creede’s band and choir programs including sheet music, textbooks and binders.

Newport Festivals Foundation has made a donation on behalf of Devon to Give A Note Foundation to support their efforts to acknowledge and reward the impactful work of music teachers across the country in the form of funds granted directly to public school K-12 music classrooms.

Newport Festivals Foundation has made a donation on behalf of Lake Street Dive to support The Institute for the Music Arts. To celebrate the partnership between IMA, Lake Street Dive and Newport Festivals Foundation, four young women from IMA’s summer programs will join Lake Street Dive for a performance at the Newport Folk Festival this summer. 

Newport Festivals Foundation has made a donation on behalf of Charley Crockett to Kids in a New Groove to fund their Mentoring Through Music program. Funds will specifically go to purchase brand new instruments for students

Newport Festivals Foundation has made a donation to Studios For Schools on behalf of The Nude Party. Studios For Schools is a nonprofit organization dedicated to building industry-standard recording and production studios in high schools. Newport Festivals Foundation’s donation will be used to buy much-needed microphones, mic cables and mic stands for the students, as well as upgrading some of the lighting, wall panels and electrical.

Newport Festivals Foundation has made a donation on behalf of I’m With Her to Education Through Music-LA‘s to ensure that all students receive a quality sequential music education program at partner school Hooper Elementary School, located in South Central.  The funding will directly expand Hooper Elementary’s Band and Strings Orchestra Program from 85 to 161 students (4th and 5th grades) this 2018-19 school year through the purchase of new instruments and the addition of two more music instructors to provide weekly instruction twice a week.

Newport Festivals Foundation has made a donation on behalf of Courtney Marie Andrews to support Phoenix Conservatory of Music. Funds will be used to help students from low income families in the Phoenix area to attend summer music intensives by providing travel support. 

Newport Festivals Foundation has made a donation on behalf of Lukas Nelson to support Anthropos in Austin TX. Anthropos hires top local professional musicians to teach and mentor at-risk teens through a series of lessons, rehearsals, and a large concert in downtown Austin.  Newport Festivals Foundation’s gift will provide 45 lessons for at-risk teens in the Austin area this spring.

Newport Festivals Foundation has made a donation on behalf of Kacey Musgraves to support Mineola High School ISD Band Program. With an increase in participation in the band program, there is a need for additional instruments – especially to help support the growing interest in jazz and chamber music small ensembles.

Newport Festivals Foundation has made a donation on behalf of Billy & Molly to support The Nashville School of Traditional Country Music to underwrite a brand new class offering in 2019. This class will focus on bluegrass flat picking guitar styles, a la Billy Strings and Molly Tuttle.

Newport Festivals Foundation has made a donation on behalf of Liz Cooper to support Music 4 More to provide instruments for struggling school and community music programs, including music therapy programs for veterans and active military. 

Newport Festivals Foundation has made a donation on behalf of Phil Lesh to support Unbroken Chain Foundation. Funds provided will be used by Unbroken Chain Foundation to bring music education programs to communities where great need exists.

Newport Festivals Foundation has made a donation on behalf of Cedric Burnside to support Old Town School of Folk Music’s financial aid program. In the last year, 490 students benefited from assistance, which is provided on a sliding scale. Of the students, 172 were adults, 209 were children, and 28 were teens, with children and teens representing 48% of the total awards.

Newport Festivals Foundation has made a donation on behalf of Jade Bird to Intonation Music in Chicago, IL. Funding will directly support the salaries of the two teaching artists who serve as mentors and music instructors to youth at Ellis Arts and Recreation Center. At Ellis, and at nine other sites in Chicago’s mid-South Side, Intonation offers in-school, after school and summer programs to bring music education to under-resourced communities. While learning to play music and form their own bands, students learn to collaborate, express themselves confidently, and take ownership of their limitless potential. 

Newport Festivals Foundation has made a donation to The People’s Music School in Chicago on behalf of Jeff Tweedy. The People’s Music School’s “Greater South Side Band” program serves 100 students. The donation will fund a full year of instrument purchases for these young students, giving them the opportunity to reap the benefits of the program and experience the joys of music.

Newport Festivals Foundation has made a donation on behalf of Haley Heynderickx to My Voice Music in Portland, OR. This donation will allow My Voice Music to purchase the 15 djembes needed in order to continue their important work with undocumented migrant youth held in detention centers seeking asylum.

Newport Festivals Foundation has made a donation on behalf of Todd Snider to support The Quest Center‘s music education programs for children living in rural, lower-income communities.

Newport Festivals Foundation has donated to fund a Girls Rock NC collaborative project with Music Maker Relief Foundation artists to bring influential Appalachian and Southern musicians to our youth programs, sharing stories, knowledge, and community across musical generations.

Newport Festivals Foundation has made a donation to fund the Columbine High School guitar class in honor of Gregory and his band.

On behalf of the guests performing in this set and the Seeger family, Newport Festivals Foundation has made a donation to: Beacon Advocates for Music (B.A.M.)