High School Nation has announced that it will donate more than $2 million to high school arts and music programs as it kicks off its 2017 60-day tour of the United States.
High School Nation, the country’s largest secondary school touring music festival, will also expand its donation program this year to include the establishment of recording studios in each of the schools the tour visits.
The tour entails a two-hour concert and events in the football stadiums of different high schools, all of which celebrate the arts in public schools. The festival begins next week and will feature Plain White T’s, as well as emerging young artists from record labels like RCA, Capital, Warner Bros. records, and Dreamworks.
“We believe that building recording studios will be a major step forward in high school music programs,” says Jimmy Cantillon, CEO and co-founder of High School Nation. “High school teachers and principals are very excited about this addition to our program. It’s a huge undertaking, but we have companies in the industry who see the value and want to participate in any way they can.”
In addition to sponsors like Guitar Center and Crayola, Truth Initiative, a national public health organization that promotes tobacco-free living, will also be sponsoring the festival. The festival will also include interactive zones that feature products from sponsors and educational programs, such as the truth Zone, the Full Sail University Media Zone, the Hollister Style Zone, Guitar Center Music Zone, and the Crayola Sidewalk Chalk Zone.
“We are extremely thrilled to partner with High School Nation with its mission to make the musical instruments easily accessible to students,” says Brian Berman, Vice President of Marketing at Guitar Center. “Ensuring people have a creative outlet to express themselves in the form of music is very important to us at Guitar Center. High School Nation is doing a great job of providing opportunities for children across the U.S. to experience the invaluable gift of learning and playing a musical instrument.”
