Music Rising is a campaign that was launched in 2005 as a post-Katrina effort to rescue and preserve the musical culture of the Central Gulf region of the United States by replacing the musical instruments lost or destroyed in the deluge. The program was founded by U2's The Edge, legendary producer Bob Ezrin and Gibson CEO Henry Juszkiewicz. To date Music Rising has replaced more than 3000 instruments to individual musicians and 10s of thousands more to schools and churches, impacting more than 250,000 people.
GuitarTown Project, a public arts project that features 10-foot tall fiberglass Gibson Les Paul or Chet Atkins model guitars was launched in April 2004. The guitar sculptures are artistically designed by local and nationally acclaimed visual artists and displayed throughout Nashville in front of the city's landmarks and businesses. Many guitar sculptures are partnered with a country music celebrity and backed by a corporate sponsor. The GuitarTown Project has united the Nashville art, music and business communities behind the cause of raising money for four worthy charitable organizations:
Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum,
Cystic Fibrosis Foundation,
The DISTRICT, and the
United Way of Nashville.
Click here to see all Gibson Guitartowns!
Soundwaves
The Perfect Blend of Art, Music and Technology Benefiting Gibson Foundation Charities
Gibson Foundation is the official partner of the "Soundwaves" project with renowned British artist, Tim Wakefield. Tim developed the process of capturing the sound images of iconic songs off a soundboard, manipulating and colorizing them through a computerized process, and transferring them to large 40"x40" canvas. The art work is then signed by Tim and the artist who either wrote or performed the song and auctioned off to benefit Gibson Foundation charities. Some of the artworks that have been created and signed by the performers and musicians include: Paul McCartney, Band on the Run; Gregg Allman, Midnight Rider; Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, Gone, Gone, Gone; Tina Turner, Private Dancer; Eric Clapton, River of Tears; Jay Z, Empire State of Mind ; Pink Floyd, Wish You Were Here; Rod Stewart, Maggie Mae; Dolly Parton, Jolene and dozens more.
Pictured below: Pearl Jam, Everflow; Tina Turner, Private Dancer; and Rod Stewart, Maggie May.