Grammy-nominated Artists Treat Nashville Elementary School Students to Live Performances on January 19th and 20th

Critically Acclaimed Singers Share Time and Knowledge with
First Graders from Little Kids Rock Music Education Program

January 17, 2006 – Nashville, TN - Little Kids Rock (LKR), a program providing free instruments and instruction for elementary school students, announced today that Grammy-nominated artists Israel Houghton and the singing group Mary Mary will be treating Nashville elementary school students to live performances. Each performance will be immediately followed by an interactive question and answer session between the artists and the students. Both visits will be taking place at the Sylvan Park Paideia Design Center (a public elementary school) on 4801 Utah Avenue in Nashville. Media are invited to attend both performances.

"It's always rewarding to witness students experiencing everything our program has to offer. Not only do we provide an accelerated program with a broad range of musical offerings, but we also have the ability to give our kids direct contact with talented, award-winning artists," said Dave Wish, Executive Director for Little Kids Rock.

Israel Houghton will visit 20 first-grade students from Sylvan Park Paideia Design Center (a public elementary school) on Thursday, January 19th at 10:00 a.m. The event will last 45-60 minutes. More information on Israel Houghton can be found at: www.newbreedmusic.com.

Additionally, singing sensation, Mary Mary will visit the same 20 first-grade students, on Friday, January 20th at 10:00 a.m. The event will last 45-60 minutes. More information on Mary Mary can be found at: www.mary-mary.com.
Little Kids Rock teaches kids how to play pop, rock, funk, blues, rap and hip-hop music. LKR students not only perform, but they also compose and record their own music. They have released four full-length CDs as well as music videos featuring student-written originals. To date, the Little Kids Rock program has served more than 7,000 students in California, New York, New Jersey and Tennessee.

Supporters of the program include Paul Simon, B.B. King, Bonnie Raitt, Steve Vai, Les Paul, Tom Waits, Rick Springfield, Dave Mason, James Burton, Brad Delson, Jason Newsted, Carlos Santana, the Grateful Dead's Bob Weir, The String Cheese Incident, Phish, Jesse McCartney and the late blues legend, John Lee Hooker. The organization hopes that its new supporters' participation will help it expand the program into new musical genres as well as provide the students with a well-rounded appreciation for diverse musical styles.

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 an elementary school teacher in 1996, Little Kids Rock is now serving thousands of students in CA, NY, NJ and TN. More information can be found at: www.littlekidsrock.org

Note to Media: Interviews with spokespeople and b-roll available upon request.

 

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