Guitar Center, a musical instrument retailer, has recently partnered with Levi’s® to help provide musical equipment for the Levi’s® Music Project with Justin Timberlake at the Stax Music Academy in Memphis, TN.
Levi’s® Music Project is an initiative that brings music education resources to community-based programs and the next generation of young musicians. Children across the globe are at risk of losing opportunities to invest in themselves and the arts as funding for music education is on the decline. Every year since 2015, Levi’s® has partnered with artists and local community partners around the world to develop the initiative.
This past August, Levi’s® teamed up with Justin Timberlake to launch the project at Stax Music Academy in Timberlake's hometown of Memphis.
Thanks to Timberlake and Levi’s®, Stax Music Academy is now equipped with a new room called “The Song Lab”—a remodeled facility meant for songwriting workshops. Stage-ready instruments, as well as recording, audio, and production equipment, were kindly donated by Guitar Center and other top MI manufacturers. Timberlake also surprised 30 of Stax Academy’s 9th-12th grade musicians who completed Stax’s advanced music theory course with an all-new songwriting class. Students will meet for two hours every Friday afternoon after school for 10 months with instructors to hone their songwriting skills.
Since its founding in 2000, Stax Music Academy has gone on to serve and foster the creative talents of thousands of children in the Memphis area. Facilities are housed in the former location of Stax Records, a record label integral to the development of Southern soul music. After nearly 20 years, the academy remains committed to nurturing the next generation of leaders who uplift their communities through music and service.
To learn more about the Stax Music Academy, visit guitarcenter.com/riffs, and read their interview with Stax Music Academy Executive Director Pat Mitchell-Worley.
