A key component of Law Rocks’ mission is to promote youth music education. In 2023, the Law Rocks Board founded the Music Matters grant, given to a local nonprofit that supports youth music education in each of our US tour cities. Omi Crawford, Executive Director of Law Rocks, says of the grant initiative:
“Law Rocks has always been about championing nonprofits, especially local organizations that make a real difference in their community. The Music Matters grant deepens that commitment, helping support music education organizations nationwide as they change young lives through the power of music. It’s inspiring and exciting to learn more about each organizations work, truly one of the best things about this work!”
Our 10th year in NYC has us rocking the Bowery Ballroom over 2 nights this year, and we are pleased to be presenting a Music Matters grant each evening. Joining us Thursday, November 13, is TeachRock: an organization “on a mission to help every student discover joy, meaning, and a sense of purpose by bringing core curriculum to life through music and culture".
Founded by Stevie Van Zandt, TeachRock has been uplifting students and teachers with the power of music for over a decade. Keep reading to learn more about this exceptional organization and in our Nonprofit Spotlight interview with Bill Carbone, Executive Director of TeachRock.
One of two 2025 NYC Music Matters Grant Recipients: TeachRock | Photo by Robert DeMartin | Courtesy of TeachRock
1) Can you tell us a little about the history of your nonprofit, as well as its mission and focus?
Founded by Stevie Van Zandt with the support of Bono, Jackson Browne, Martin Scorsese, and Bruce Springsteen, TeachRock was created to help address the student dropout crisis by keeping music and the arts in the DNA of education. What began in 2013 as a mission to prevent disengagement has evolved into a movement—one that meets a generation of students growing up isolated, distracted, and overwhelmed, and helps them reconnect to learning in ways that feel personal, relevant, and real.
TeachRock is on a mission to help every student discover joy, meaning, and a sense of purpose by bringing core curriculum to life through music and culture.
TeachRock is a free, standards-aligned curriculum that brings core subjects to life through the power of music and popular culture. Designed by educators and artists, TeachRock helps students engage more deeply with Social Studies, Language Arts, STEAM, Music, and more—connecting what they explore in their K-12 classrooms to the world around them.
Today, more than 80,000 educators in all 50 states have used TeachRock to reimagine their classrooms. The curriculum has reached more than one million students worldwide and is shown to improve attendance, engagement, and academic outcomes. Teachers report renewed purpose in their work, and students gain tools to understand history, reflect on their sense of self and place in the world, and think critically—all through lessons that begin with the universal language of music.
TeachRock is endorsed by leading education organizations in social studies, music, and the humanities—and is helping shape what 21st-century learning can and should look like.
2) What is the best example of the way you’ve seen your organization’s work make a difference?
Stevie Van Zandt recently shared the following story:
"I recently Zoomed with a Denver high school that runs our American History of Rock and Soul Course. The kids took turns coming up to the screen to ask me questions and share things about themselves.
One girl, dressed in a timeless black rock and roll tee, told me that she’s “not a ‘school’ person.”
She explained that she has a lot of interests and is good at things, but none of those skills have translated to her feeling like a “smart” student.
She reminded me of myself as a teenager. I didn't see the point of school or how any of it would matter in my life. I barely graduated.
She told me she does poorly in most of her classes, except for that TeachRock History class.
Because, as she put it, “this class lets me use the things I love to learn the things I’m expected to.”
And that’s the point.
Her teacher meets her at her interest–music–and then invites her into a history lesson.
Her interests have been validated, she feels welcome, and she enthusiastically participates.
She decides it’s worth coming to school for that class, and to spend time with that teacher.
And she succeeds. And I might have as well if we'd had TeachRock in my day. I can't change that, but I can make sure we reach these kids, NOW."
3) What are some upcoming initiatives that you are planning for?
We are launching a Teacher Council with TeachRock representatives from all 50 states!
We have created a full US History in partnership with the Library of Congress that employs our "Music as a Primary Source" pedagogy to introduce US History from Reconstruction to 9/11.
Over the next year, we are rebuilding and modernizing our entire website. This will improve UX, and increase usability for teachers by better aligning our resources to the scope and sequence of their courses, adding interoperability with prevailing learning management systems, and introducing a degree of AI functionality.
Photo by Alex Jackson | Courtesy of TeachRock
4) What is the greatest challenge your organization faces?
Sustainable funding. 2025 has been an incredibly disruptive year that has made many organizations' strategic plans a document of the past. TeachRock has reached over 1 million students. We've proven that we increase engagement, reduce disciplinary issues and even help combat chronic absenteeism. A 2024 Drexel study demonstrated that TeachRockimproves teacher morale and has even inspired teachers to stay in the classroom. We know we have meaningful solutions, we need more organizations to join the movement to bring classrooms to life through music and culture.
5) What does the power of music mean to you?
As an adult, it is hard to shut down the racing thoughts of life--"gotta prepare for that meeting," "who is picking up the kids from practice tomorrow?" "Did I pay the electric bill?" But when the music starts, whether we're playing it or listening/watching, we give in, we let go, and we become our best selves. I've seen strangers hug at concerts just because they're both feeling so much joy they don't know what else to do. They didn't look at each other and make value judgements, they looked at each other and felt genuine compassion. Why can't we carry this energy out of the concert and into the world?
TeachRock is.
The power of music is such that we can help a student forget to fight academic subjects and embrace them because they FEEL the point of them.
6) How will the Music Matters grant be used?
TeachRock and the New York City Department of Education Social Studies Department will host a series of professional development workshops for teachers during the 2025-26 school year. Each will have a different theme--Day of Teaching with The Dead; Hip Hop in High School, etc. The Music Matters grant will allow us to offer these workshops free to 200 teachers.
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Learn more about TeachRock.
Get tickets to the 10th Annual Law Rocks New York City.
Header photo by Robert DeMartin.