NAMM Fly-In 2013

Congressman Thomas Massie (Kentucky) with NAMM chairman Kevin Cranley.

Sequester, ‘Fiscal Cliff’, Gun Control, etc…  It’s pretty easy to put the larger cause of “music education funding” on the back-burner these days — understandbly so.   It was the mission of NAMM’s Fly-In group this week, however, to put that topic front-and-center for polticians and policy makers with the annual D.C. visit.   Bolstered by the presence of big-name celebs, Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers) and Bernie Wililams (NY Yankees [we'll forgive him for that.  Nobody's perfect.  - Ed.] and Latin Jazz guitarist), this year’s group made a compelling case for the rightful place of music in the Core education of each and every public school student in America.   Much like the NAMM Show in January, it felt like national mainstream media suddenly had their eyelids peeled back to what was going on with this event [Thumbs up to Lora Bodmer - Ed.] with *huge* coverage in Rolling Stone, The Huffington Post, Washington Times and many more outlets.   The nation is paying attention and seemingly everyone is on board (who would *not* be in favor of music ed?).   Let’s hope legislation ultimately follows suit.  Look for a detailed report on this truly inspiring — It really was!   You jaded so-and-sos…. — trip in the May issue of MMR….