Segue at the TeachRock NYC benefit concert, photo by Marc Millman

On Thursday, Dec. 18, TeachRock brought its Help on the Way Holiday Tour to New York’s Cutting Room, bringing together a jam supergroup to raise funds for the free music-based curriculum program founded by Steven Van Zandt.

Following an engagement at Airfield, Conn.’s FTC Stage One on the previous evening, NYC attendees were treated to a properly warmed-up performance from Segue, the all-star jam outfit featuring Vinnie Amico and Al Schnier (moe.), Tim Palmieri (Lotus), Dani Battat (Eggy), Sarah Elaz (Bearly Dead) and TeachRock’s Executive Director, Bill Carbone (Max Creek). Through a dynamic, genre-bending set, the powerhouse manifested music’s indescribable capacity to foster interpersonal connections and creative thinking, emphasizing its value as a pedagogical tool.

“I ask any of the jamband fans reading this, imagine if you’d had the Wall of Sound in your science class, earned some Econ credits by learning about the Dead’s business model, or had Mickey Hart help you through algebra. Might school have felt a little different?” Carbone shared with Relix. “The way we love music is so much deeper than just that moment of dancing, and as we engage in our pursuit of music writ large, we’re always flexing the mental muscles that schools are trying to help kids build. TeachRock uses the music to get kids excited about developing those muscles.”

Launched over a decade ago by the iconic E Street Band guitarist, with the Founders Board of Bono, Jackson Browne, Martin Scorsese and Bruce Springsteen, TeachRock provides vital education resources for schools around the world. Through the sound, stories and science of music, the program endeavors to create engaging lesson plans and materials for history, math, science, design, music and more—at no cost to students, teachers or families. TeachRock has found tremendous success with this unique perspective, and today supports over 70,000 educators and 30,000 schools in all 50 US States, England, Spain, Norway and beyond. In New York City, where TeachRockMore is an official partner of NYC Public Schools, more than 4,000 NYC teachers are registered to use TeachRock’s online curriculum.

“At the heart of TeachRock is a simple idea,” Van Zandt said. “When you make learning meaningful, kids show up — not just in the room, but in their lives. Teachers are the ones making that happen, day after day, and they don’t get nearly enough credit. HELP ON THE WAY is our chance to celebrate them, support them, and share the power of music with the community.”

Get an inside look at TeachRock’s Help on the Way Holiday Tour in the gallery below, courtesy of photographer Marc Millman. Learn more about TeachRock at teachrock.org. 

“It’s cool that Stevie is doing this,” Schnier said in a recent Relix interview with Amico. “The nonprofit is a huge effort on his part to get funding for music education and for the arts, where it’s severely lacking. Now more than ever. They are not only providing instruments and financing, but also writing curriculum, because even that’s gone away at this point. It’s a whole package of providing music education to kids where it’s missing.” Read more of the wide-ranging conversation here.