Giving Tuesday 2022
In 2020, we launched the Americana Music Association Foundation (AMAF), our non-profit 501(c)(3) with a mission to preserve and educate people on the beloved art form we know today as Americana music.
Since its launch in 2020, our foundation has helped raise COVID-19 funds with our friends at The Bluegrass Situation and market a health-friendly, virtual music industry conference known as Thriving Roots during the pandemic. The foundation has also engaged in a continuous partnership with NYU Steinhardt to feature programming that educates students on the value of music through a series of lectures, workshops, and classroom visits from Americana Artists-In-Residency throughout the academic year.
The American Music Foundation is joining with the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History to present a series of programs focused on the rich threads of country, folk, blues, soul, bluegrass, gospel and rock in the tapestry of the country’s living musical legacy.
This recognition of the significant role of music in American culture is part of the museum’s upcoming Dec. 9 opening of its Culture Wing, featuring the Smithsonian’s first-ever permanent exhibition dedicated to popular culture, “Entertainment Nation.” Over its 20-year timeframe “Entertainment Nation” will feature instruments, costumes, sheet music, posters and other material culture that reflect the depth and breadth of musical contributions that have shaped the nation.
The inaugural collaboration consists of five live events in a series, “Roots to Pop,” with the first program on Dec. 9 focused on the importance of blues music. Blues legend Taj Mahal will appear in conversation with Grammy-nominated singer and songwriter Allison Russell. The event will be recorded and made available online as part of the project’s educational initiative.
This unique collaboration between AMF and the museum centers on programs that expand on live performance with conversations between museum curators and the artists as well as the opportunity for the audience to view instruments from the museum’s vast collection up close an in some instances, to see and hear those instruments actually played.
How you can help
None of this would've been possible without our community's support. That said, today we're asking for your help to continue our foundation's ongoing initiatives into 2022 and beyond.
If you’re unable to make a larger one-time donation, we'll gladly take whatever you're able to contribute monthly by as low as $10. By receiving regular donations, we're able to plan ahead and make better financial decisions for our mission.