In celebration of Phish’s recent tour (September 12 to 21), the all-volunteer and fan-run Mockingbird Foundation has announced unsolicited $2,000 Tour Grants to music programs in each of the four cities in which the band performed, for a total of $8,000:

• West Louisville Performing Arts Academy of Louisville, Kentucky (near Bourbon + Beyond Festival, September 12) for Benward tapes for harmonizing; tapes for a large number of students in the program
• Webb Bridge Middle School Band of Alpharetta, Georgia (near Ameris Bank Amphitheater, September 16 & 17) for additional instructors for one-on-one instruction
• Eaton Middle School Band of Hampton, Virginia (near Hampton Coliseum, September 19, 20, & 21) for instrument repair
• Inglenook K8 School Band Program of Birmingham, Alabama (near Coca-Cola Amphitheater, September 13 & 14) for instruments and learning software

This group of grants includes Mockingbird’s 200th (!) Tour Grant and 354th non-competitive grant. It is the 33nd group of Tour Grants, an effort that now totals over $328K, which is 11.8% of all disbursements made by the Foundation. These grants are part of a long-standing effort to help support music education in the local communities which have welcomed and hosted the Phish community for the band’s performances.