Phish is bringing music to 19 cities this summer, and so are their fans!

Today, a group of Phish fans mailed an unsolicited $1,000 check to a music education program in each of the cities included on Phish’s Summer 2009 tour.

Distributed by the all-volunteer Mockingbird Foundation, the $19,000 in grants are part of a concerted effort to support communities touched by Phish tours, to encourage support for music education, and to help generate that support in press surrounding Phish shows.

With these grants, the Mockingbird Foundation has distributed a total of $609,750.40, through 191 grants, in 42 states. Reflecting the organization’s mission and history of diverse funding, the newest recipients vary not only in locale (see map) but in size, host, age, genre, and more.

“The recipients also share several things,” notes Executive Director Ellis Godard: “proximity to the tour, an understanding of the magic and wonder of music, a commitment to convey that understanding to children, and the earnest need for your support.” In order of tour date, they are:

Grant Recipient Location Show(s) Nearby
Symphony by the Sea’s Youth Orchestra Boston, MA Fenway, 5/31/09
Wantagh Schools Music Dept. Wantagh, NY Jones Beach, 6/2,4,5/09
Mansfield High School Jazz Band Mansfield, MA Comcast Center, 6/6/09
Universal African Dance & Drum Ensemble Camden, NJ Susquehanna Bank Center, 6/7/09
Evergreen Community Charter School Miramba Band Asheville, NC Asheville Civic Center, 6/9/09
Bobcat Band Boosters, Central HS, Knox County Knoxville, TN Thompson-Boling Arena, 6/10/09
Coffee County Red Raider Band Boosters Manchester, TN Bonnaroo, 6/12&14/09
Community Music School of Webster University St. Louis, MO Fox Theatre, 6/16/09
Burgettstown Area Middle School Guitar Club Burgettstown, PA Post Gazette Pavillion, 6/18/09
Noblesville Schools Education Foundation Noblesville, IN Verizon Wireless Music Center, 6/19/09
East Troy Schools Music Boosters* East Troy, WI Alpine Valley Music Theater, 6/20&21/09
Red Rocks Elementary Morrison, CO Red Rocks Amphitheatre, 7/30 & 8/1/09
Music for Minors Mountain View, CA Shoreline Amphitheatre, 8/5/09
Monument Elementary School Music Classes Quincy, WA The Gorge Amphitheatre, 8/7&8/09
Argo Community High School Band Bridgeview, IL Toyota Park, 8/11/09
Pembroke High School Evening Jazz Band Corfu, NY Darien Lake PAC, 8/13/09
Breakthrough Magnet School Hartford, CT The Comcast Theatre, 8/14/09
Wilde Lake High School Band Columbia, MD Merriweather Post Pavillion, 8/15/09
NYSSSA School of Jazz Studies Saratoga Springs, NY Saratoga Performing Arts Center, 8/16/09
*click Organizations, then Music Boosters

The Mockingbird Foundation is the leading provider of historical information about Phish and its music, both in print and online. It fundraises through books, innovative recordings, creative donation premiums, special events, and the Phish.net website. Operated entirely by volunteers since incorporation in 1996, the foundation has no paid staff, salaries, or office, and disburses more than 99% of funds raised to charity.

Funds solely support music education for children. Most are distributed through a two-tiered application process intended to add critical support for important and innovative programs serving diverse populations. Currently, only about 1% of the thousands of inquiries received each year can be funded. Please consider helping raise that percentage!

Phish is a rock band that started in 1983 and grew to become one of the highest-grossing live acts in the nation before performing a “final show” August 15, 2004. They returned last March, and are now engaged in a summer tour that includes two performances at the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival and 25 other shows nationwide. For more information about Phish, please visit http://www.phish.com.

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