The Trombone Shorty Foundation will share its groove outside of New Orleans this summer by offering young performers with unique opportunities to broaden their musical horizons. Now in its 12th year, the Foundation is devoted to its mission of transforming young lives through the power of music while preserving the city’s culture for future generations. Hitting the road and gaining music industry experience is a big part of that.
Coming up on Saturday July 13th, Alumni from the Foundation’s flagship program, the Trombone Shorty Academy, will travel to Berkeley, California to participate in the Rex Foundation’s 40th anniversary celebration at the historic Greek Theater.
The Rex Foundation, formed by members of the Grateful Dead in 1984, continues to support non-profits around the country, and in 2022 the Trombone Shorty Foundation received its prestigious Ralph J. Gleason Award (named in honor of the legendary Bay Area music journalist). The Academy’s alumni band will second line throughout the Greek Theater between performances from post-Jerry Garcia torch-bearers Melvin Seals & JBG and the Dark Star Orchestra, which will recreate an iconic Grateful Dead concert from the same date in 1984.
“What an eye-opening and deeply-meaningful experience for our young musicians— to perform in front of thousands of Dead Heads in the cradle of the band’s home turf at the Greek,” says Bill Taylor, Founding Executive Director of the Trombone Shorty Foundation. “We are honored by the support we’ve received from the Rex Foundation and can’t wait to add some New Orleans funk to celebrate their 40th anniversary!”
The Academy Alumni Band will continue its Bay Area take-over and Grateful Dead immersion the next day, Sunday July 14th, with a brunch performance at the legendary Sweetwater Music Hall in Mill Valley, owned in part by original Dead member Bob Weir.
Then from August 15-17th, the Foundation will head to the mountains of Park City, Utah where for the second consecutive year the Shorty Academy will participate in the Park City Song Summit along with musical luminaries like Mavis Staples, My Morning Jacket, Nathaniel Rateliff and the Nightsweats, and Cuban powerhouse Cimafunk.
Joining the Shorty Academy students for this weekend will be their counterparts from their “sister school” in Havana, Cuba, the Guillermo Tomas Conservatory. As a result of recent collaborations with New Orleans musicians during the foundation’s now annual “Getting Funky in Havana” trip, these young Cuban students have formed a band they are calling “Primera Linea,” which translates to “First Line,” an homage to what they have learned from these cultural exchanges. Together, the Shorty Foundation students and Primera Linea will play a vital role in the weekend’s musical festivities.
“I love traveling as a young Black musician exploring new opportunities and places, and to connect to new people one melody and beat at a time,” says John Rhodes, a recent graduate and valedictorian of Warren Easton High School and mainstay of the Shorty Foundation’s programs.
Stay tuned for an upcoming announcement on 2025’s “Getting Funky in Havana” trip, which will take place January 16-20th next year.