Investing in the Future of Music
Meet The NAMM Foundation Grantees at The NAMM Show
At The NAMM Show, The NAMM Foundation — the charitable arm of NAMM — continues its mission to grow all segments of the music industry by expanding access to music learning and career opportunities. Through its grant program, the foundation supports a wide range of communities and demographics, especially those underrepresented in the music industry, while investing in efforts to eliminate barriers to music making and career mobility. This is all made possible through the generous support of NAMM and its donors.
This year, the foundation welcomed several of its grant recipients to Anaheim to share the music and skills they’ve developed through foundation-supported programs. Their performances and activities during The NAMM Show offered NAMM members, exhibitors and attendees a firsthand look at the impact of the foundation’s work.
It’s a good reminder that when companies exhibit, professionals attend, and artists perform, their collective engagement advances programs that expand access to music learning and promotes the lifelong benefits of making music.
Below are a few stories of NAMM Foundation grantees and their activities at the show. Take a look at how they became immersed in the foremost gathering for the music industry:
Girls Make Beats
Girls Make Beats is a nationwide program that introduces girls ages 5 to 17 to the world of music production, audio engineering and DJing and guides them toward careers in the music industry.
Several young ladies from Girls Make Beats made a splash at The NAMM Show. They took the stage at the Grand Rally for Music Education and performed Superstition by Stevie Wonder alongside bassist Victor Wooten, drummer Chad Smith and fellow NAMM Foundation grantee The Roots of Music. For many of the girls, this was their first experience performing at The NAMM Show in front of global music industry leaders.
Girls Make Beats could also be found around The NAMM Show Campus, showcasing their creative DJing skills with high-energy sets at their Palm Court activation and at the Women of NAMM reception. All these activities connected NAMM members to the importance of investing in girls early on and supporting their music industry dreams.
Tiffany Miranda, President and Founder, Girls Make Beats“The NAMM Foundation’s grant amplifies our mission to empower girls through music technology education, helping us create pathways for future producers,
engineers and creators.”
The Roots of Music
During recovery after Hurricane Katrina, Derrick Tabb noticed that New Orleans music education programs weren’t coming back. He took it in his own hands to create The Roots of Music, an organization that preserves New Orleans’ musical heritage by bringing music education to the city’s youth.
The NAMM Foundation invited Roots of Music to perform on the show floor and at the Grand Rally for Music Education. Their Studio Band, made up of students, got The NAMM Show crowd cheering for their jazz numbers. Legendary bass player Victor Wooten gave a mini masterclass for the students, showing how the students could expand their playing skills and talent on the spot. The students demonstrated the power of musicianship to inspire an audience, create a lasting memory, and build confidence in young people.
David's Harp Foundation
Take a look behind the scenes at the BizPod content creators who produced professional videos of The NAMM Show.
David’s Harp Foundation teaches music production to current and formerly incarcerated youth, with their Beats Behind the Wall and Beats Beyond the Wall programs creating a path out of the justice system and into real-world opportunities.
The NAMM Foundation invited content creators from their BizPod program to practice their media production skills in a real-world setting by documenting the stories of NAMM Foundation grantees at The NAMM Show. The youth accomplished their storytelling through filming and professionally edited videos, including the “The Roots of Music” video featured above! Their participation at The NAMM Show offered attendees insight into yet another profoundly transformative NAMM Foundation-funded program.
BizPod content creators also filmed, edited and produced this promotional video on “GenNext Focus,” featuring students talking about why attending The NAMM Show opens their awareness to opportunities in the music industry.
Rawkstars, Inc.
Rawkstars, Inc. is a youth-focused nonprofit dedicated to creative development through music, serving young people across Massachusetts and Rhode Island with hands-on experience in beat-making, songwriting and technical music production, alongside career-focused workshops.
This year, Rawkstars students had the extraordinary opportunity to attend The NAMM Show, where creators, educators, artists and innovators come together to shape the future of music.
Jonathan Jacobs, Founder and Executive Director, Rawkstars“Seeing the breadth and the depth of the folks from the music industry from all around the world that converge at NAMM every year — and having our students see what’s possible and feel like they’re actually part of that community — was a truly transformative experience.”
Horizons Unlimited of San Francisco
Horizons Unlimited of San Francisco, a social service organization serving the city’s Spanish speaking population, offers an after-school program called The DJ Project, teaching high school students a variety of skills, from event production and media literacy to audio production, music theory and live performance. The NAMM Foundation was thrilled to have youth from the organization DJ at the Yamaha Fountain Stage, offering NAMM Show attendees a powerful, real-world view of what access and opportunity look like for teens.
Able ARTS Work
Able ARTS Work, based in Long Beach, California, provides lifelong learning, vocational opportunities and creative arts — including music — to individuals living with autism and development disabilities. Artbeat Radio, a professional podcast for and by people with disabilities, is one of their stand-out programs. The NAMM Foundation invited the podcast creators to record live from The NAMM Show’s Creator Lounge & Studios, integrating yet another audience into the music industry’s diverse array of communities. The Able ARTS Work creators had the exciting opportunity to serve as show influencers, putting their media skills to work at the world’s largest global gathering of the music products industry.
San Diego Youth Symphony
SDYS’s Community Opus Project, an El Sistema-inspired program, expands access to quality music education in historically underserved communities across San Diego County public schools. The students performed at this year’s Chair Reception at The NAMM Show, exposing influential music industry leaders to the next generation of musicians.
Lamond GenNext Award Recipients
What better way to learn about the music industry and its trends, opportunities, companies and products than attending The NAMM Show?
Thanks to The NAMM Foundation’s Lamond GenNext Award program, 150 college and university students were awarded stipends to attend the show and gain valuable exposure to the industry. The award supports students who are pursuing careers in pro audio, live events, product innovation, education, management, music performance, and other avenues in the music industry. At the show, the students attended GenNext education sessions designed to introduce them to careers in the industry, networked with NAMM members who shared their workforce insights, and met NAMM leadership who encouraged their participation in NAMM to continue growing their industry knowledge.
NAMM Show Attendees Engage With NAMM Gives Back
Attendees interacted with the above NAMM Foundation grantees across the show campus and had these additional opportunities to learn about NAMM Gives Back:
Community Art Piece: What Does Music Mean to You?
In the Member Center, a dedicated space for new and long-time members to network, learn and connect with all things NAMM, attendees had the opportunity to participate in the NAMM Gives Back campaign directly through the “Your Color, Your Cause Wall,” an interactive installation built around one question: What does music mean to you?
Throughout the five days of the show, the wall became filled with attendees’ personal responses and colorful artwork, creating a collective visual expression of the values behind NAMM Gives Back. The wall doubled as a community art piece and a natural photo moment for attendees to create memories and share the campaign message: by participating in NAMM, you help give back to communities that thrive on making music.
Museum of Making Music: Vintage Pedal Display
The Museum of Making Music, located at the NAMM headquarters in Carlsbad, California, is also a program of The NAMM Foundation. The museum houses musical instruments, accessories and technology that tell the story of NAMM member companies and their innovative contributions to the music products industry. Students at all grade levels and members of the public visit the museum year-round to learn about the evolution of musical instruments, hear stories from museum volunteers, and get hands-on with real instruments in the museum’s interactive spaces.
To bring the museum experience to NAMM Show attendees, NAMM museum staff curated a rare vintage pedal display in the Pedal Lounge, featuring effects from across eras of innovation and experimentation. Alongside exploring rarely seen vintage pedals, attendees also got a glimpse into the museum’s ongoing work preserving and sharing musical artifacts with audiences every day.
Learn More About How NAMM Gives Back
As a NAMM member and NAMM Show attendee, there are many ways your active participation in NAMM helps support grantees and scholarship awardees like the ones above and more. Visit The NAMM Foundation website to learn how you can get involved with foundation programs that bring music education and musical experiences to people of all ages, backgrounds and abilities throughout the year.
About The NAMM Foundation
The NAMM Foundation works to remove systemic barriers that limit access to music-making and career pathways in the music industry. By investing in bold ideas and innovative solutions, we strive to build inclusive and thriving musical communities in the U.S. and abroad.