Little Kids Rock

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact:

Keith Hejna - 973.746.8248
Little Kids Rock
keith@littlekidsrock.org

Guitarist Rich Eckhardt to meet and jam with Dallas students

Dallas, TX., July 30, 2009 —Little Kids Rock (LKR) a national nonprofit music program that provides free instruments and instruction to underfunded public schools, today announced that Toby Keith’s guitarist, Rich Eckhardt, will visit Seagoville High School in Dallas from 12 – 1 p.m. on Saturday, August 1 as part of an LKR initiative to put music education back into U.S. public schools.

Eckhardt will meet, jam with, and field questions from approximately 15-25 elementary-high school students from four Dallas schools participating in the LKR music education program.

These four schools have been selected from 79 public schools that make up LKR’s Dallas chapter, which was launched on January 25, 2008. To date, LKR has trained 87 Dallas public school teachers at its free workshops, and donated enough instruments to reach the over 8,000 public schools students. In addition to the instruments donated by Little Kids Rock, Fender™ Musical Instruments Corporation (FMIC) donated 40 Starcaster® drum kits to LKR programs in the Dallas Independent School District earlier this year.

The next Dallas workshop will take place on September 11-12, 2009, with the support of Big Thought and the citywide education system they manage, called Thriving Minds.

LKR’s Dallas chapter is one of 20 current nationwide chapters that have brought the gift of music to over 85,000 underserved students since 2002.

Rich Eckhardt’s visit will take place this Saturday, August 1, 2009 from 12 – 1 p.m. at Seagoville High School, located at 15920 Seagoville Rd., Dallas, TX 75253. Media are invited to attend the event.

Schools participating in the event: Seagoville High School, Seagoville Middle School, G.B. Dealey Montessori Academy and Esperanza “Hope” Medrano Elementary .

About Little Kids Rock
Little Kids Rock is a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization that transforms children’s lives by restoring and revitalizing music education in underfunded public schools. LKR was founded in San Francisco in 2002 by David Wish, an elementary school teacher who had grown frustrated with the lack of music education funding at his school. Today, LKR is the leading music education nonprofit in the US, serving more than 42,000 students at over 1,000 schools in 21 cities nationwide. LKR Honorary Board Members include Bonnie Raitt, Slash, Paul Simon, B.B. King, Ziggy Marley, Les Paul and other famous friends in the music industry. More information can be found at: www.littlekidsrock.org and www.littlekidsrock.tv.

About Rich Eckhardt
Rich Eckhardt is one of the most sought after guitarists in music today. His ability to cover multiple styles has put him on stage with singers ranging from Steven Tyler of Aerosmith to Shania Twain and Willie Nelson.

Shortly after moving to Nashville, Tennessee in 1989, his first gig was on the stage of the world famous Grand Ol’ Opry. From there, Rich began a steady run of touring and recording with artists including John Berry, Becky Hobbs, Rodney Atkins, Steve Azar, Eddy Raven, Mel McDaniel, Blake Shelton and Toby Keith.

Today, Eckhardt is extremely busy, balancing his hectic touring schedule with studio sessions and television appearances. He has performed in nearly every major concert venue in the world, played on multi-platinum and Grammy winning albums, entertained for three American presidents and has been seen on most of the industry’s staple television shows including the Tonight show and Superbowl XXXVIII
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