Portland, OR – Hosted by local hip-hop star Cool Nutz, seven Pacific Northwest bands are donating their time and considerable talents by coming together on Friday, May 30 for the second-annual Music in the Schools benefit concert to raise money for Portland Public Schools’ high-school music programs.

The Blue Scholars, a socially conscious hip-hop duo from Seattle, will headline the concert to be held from 7 to 11 p.m. at the Crystal Ballroom in downtown Portland. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Indie bands YACHT, the Shaky Hands and Typhoon will join local student-led hip-hop groups Gray Matters and State of Mind Crew, as well as OnlyOne and Immaculate, members of internationally recognized Sandpeople group.

Last year, former Lincoln senior Dash Robb, now a freshman at Oberlin College in Ohio, spearheaded the first benefit concert with several other students. Held at Cleveland High School with an audience of over 500, these students raised over $7,000, which was evenly distributed throughout the district’s high-school music programs.

With a stellar alternative and hip-hop lineup, these students hope to raise over $18,000 by drawing in an audience of over 1,500 students and music fans from around the city.

“Due to budget cuts over the past few years, PPS’s music programs have gradually been disappearing and as students of this district we are passionate, determined and feel very strongly about keeping music and the arts in our schools,” said current organizer, senior Galia Slayen. “If the district won’t ensure that the arts/music are kept in our schools, then we will.”

The concert is also intended as community builder and community event. Students from Lincoln, Grant, Cleveland, Wilson and Roosevelt are all sponsoring the event and working together to make this happen, thinking it would be a great way to conclude the school year. Next year they intend on turning Music in the Schools into a nonprofit organization.

Tickets will be available for purchase online at Pdxmusicintheschools.com, before the concert or at the door on the day of the concert. Tickets are $12 for students with ID, and general admission is $17.

For information, please contact gslayen@hotmail.com or call 503-756-7461.

Source:
Portland Observer