Grammy Winner Michael McDonald and Show Boat Cruises Help Little Kids Rock the Boat

Rock & Roll Legends Set Sail to Benefit National Music Education Program

August 24, 2004 – San Francisco, CA - Little Kids Rock (LKR) an innovative non-profit program that provides free instruments and music curriculum to children, announced today Show Boat Cruises has named LKR as the beneficiary of their January cruise. A portion of the proceeds from ticket sales will be used to support LKR music programming across the U.S.

The 7-day cruise departs January 3rd from San Diego and travels down the Pacific coast and on to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. The trip will feature the finest rock, jazz, and Motown musicians including Grammy winners Michael McDonald and Tom Scott, Hall of Fame inductee Gregg Rolie, and rock & roll legend, Eddie Money.

"Showboat is honored to be a part of Little Kids Rocks music educations efforts," said Tag Eckles of Show Boat Cruises. "We are happy that we in the entertainment industry can give back to such an incredible program and such a worthwhile cause."

"Little Kids Rock is always excited by great and innovative ideas," said David Wish, founder and Executive Director of Little Kids Rock. “We love the entire premise of the Rock & Roll cruise and truly appreciate Showboat's support of music education."

Michael McDonald and the other artists on the cruise are on a growing list of LKR celebrity supporters. Bonnie Raitt, Paul Simon, B.B, King, Jason Newsted, Dave Mason and Les Paul are all members of the LKR Honorary Board. Carlos Santana has donated instruments and blues legend, John Lee Hooker visited LKR classes before his passing.

About Show Boat Cruises
Founded in 2004, Show Boat Cruises develops musical themed cruises on state-of-art cruise ships. The cruises feature well-loved music icons and give passengers the opportunity to interact with their favorite artists in an informal, one-on-one setting. For more information, visit: www.showboatcruises.com

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 2,000 students in CA, NY, NJ and TN. Bonnie Raitt, Paul Simon, BB King and Les Paul sit on our Honorary Board of Directors and we are supported by friends Carlos Santana, Phish, Bob Weir and others. Little Kids Rock programs are scheduled to launch in the Los Angeles area in 2004.

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