James Burton Joins Little Kids Rock Honorary Board

Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Supports Music Education Program

June 23rd, 2005 – Shreveport, LA - Little Kids Rock (LKR) an innovative non-profit program that provides free instruments and free music classes to children, announced today that legendary guitarist, James Burton, will be accepting a seat on their Honorary Board of Directors. Mr. Burton will be joining current Honorary Board Members Bonnie Raitt, Steve Vai, Paul Simon, BB King, Jason Newsted, Les Paul, Dave Mason, Rick Springfield and pitcher Al Leiter.

“I was fortunate that my parents sacrificed to purchase my first Fender guitar,” said James Burton. “It has been my dream to give back to the music community by helping young musicians realize their potential. I am proud to support Little Kids Rock in their effort to bring music education to the schools.”

“Little Kids Rock is honored to have the support of guitar legend James Burton,“ said David Wish, Founder and Executive Director of Little Kids Rock. “In addition to being a musician that is respected throughout the industry, Mr. Burton is dedicated to actively supporting music education.”

Mr. Burton has other impressive philanthropic credentials as well. He recently created the James Burton International Guitar Festival to raise money to provide musical scholarships and instruments to children and young adults. The first annual festival will take place from August 19-21 in Shreveport, LA and will include three days of entertainment featuring the hottest guitar pickers in the world, a trade show, performance clinics and more. More information about the festival is available at: http://www.jamesburtonmusic.com/

About James Burton
James started performing professionally at the age of 14. He started as a house guitar player for the Louisiana Hayride, a radio broadcast out of the historical Municipal Auditorium. James went on to play for Elvis Presley for a number of years until Elvis’ death. He also played for Ricky Nelson and has been named a Top 100 Guitar Player of this Century by Guitar Magazine. James was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and has won several Country Music Awards.

Burton is dedicated to supporting future music makers. He started the James Burton Foundation, which is dedicated to providing musical scholarships and instruments to children as well as young adults.

About the James Burton International Guitar Festival
Shreveport, Louisiana is host to the legendary James Burton International Guitar Festival being held August 19, 20, 21 throughout the Downtown Shreveport area. Thursday, August 19 through Saturday, August 21 a first-ever open-to-the-public trade show will be held at the Expo Hall with the buy, sell and trade of vintage guitars and a preview of all the top-of-the-line musical equipment. As well, music clinics and stage performances will be on-going throughout the show. Music lovers will flock to the Friday night “Blowout Under The Bridge” in the Downtown Shreveport Red River District. Louisiana Saturday nights are hot with incredible talent when James Burton and Friends take stage at the Municipal Auditorium for hours of musical performances from some of the industries’ best. Visit www.jamesburtonmusic.com for more information on the three-day festival and ticket sales.

About Little Kids Rock
Little Kids Rock believes that music is a critical component of first-rate education. Many elementary schools have been stripped of their music programs. These cuts have had a disproportionately large impact on children from low-income backgrounds. Little Kids Rock restores music to its rightful place in the academic lives of kids in our public schools by providing a rich music education program including instrument instruction, free instruments and trained mentors. Founded by a single elementary school teacher in 1996, Little Kids Rock is now serving more than 4,000 students in CA, NY, NJ and TN. Bonnie Raitt, Paul Simon, B.B. King and Les Paul sit on our Honorary Board of Directors and we are supported by friends Carlos Santana, Phish, Bob Weir and others. More information can be found at: www.littlekidsrock.org

Media Contact:
Allison Neves, PR Director
Little Kids Rock
415-948-1200
allison@littlekidsrock.org