Rock to the Future will be accepting new students for our free afterschool program starting September 2012!!

After two successful years, Rock to the Future will again be expanding capacity for the 2012-2013 program year! Students at Rock to the Future have fun rockin’ out and increase grades while socializing with peers in a safe, positive environment. The program is FREE for participants (a $50 deposit is requested and returned upon program completion).

Students at Rock to the Future get to learn guitar, bass guitar, drums, or keyboard, form bands, write original music, and perform throughout the year at various community events and venues. Students also receive daily homework help to improve their grades. The program has shown a significant positive impact on student academic performance.

The only requirements to apply are students must be ages 9-14 by September 1^st, 2012, must reside in Philadelphia, and must be lower-income and/or at-risk. Rock to the Future is located at 2139 E Cumberland Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19125 and students attend Monday-Friday from directly after school until 6pm. To apply please visit the APPLY tab on our website or email RocktotheFuturePhilly@gmail.com for more information. APPLICATIONS ARE DUE JULY 31^st!

CALLING ALL VENDORS! REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN! Sell crafts, art, apparel, junk, home goods, etc. at the Rockin’ Rummage Sale on June 2nd at the First Unitarian Church (Center City – near Rittenhouse Square!).  Space is limited – reserve your table today!

All spaces are 10ft long and include a 6 foot event table and one chair.

Indoor Table Registration: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=DL4Z5BP3LKXRN

OUTDOOR table Registration (Only 5 outdoor tables available!) Right on Chestnut Street! https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=QA6Z3AE5TEWLE

Come out to the First Unitarian Church (21st and Chestnut) on Saturday June 2nd from 10AM to 4PM for a Rockin’ Rummage Sale! One person’s junk is another’s treasure! Come search through flea market items, local artwork, crafts, and support Rock to the Future! Live music and food! Rock to the Future is a Fishtown/Kensington-area nonprofit that gives local kids the chance to get homework help and rock out every day after school! To learn more, visit http://www.RocktotheFuturePhilly.org/.

Test your knowledge of Philadelphia in the 1st Annual Race and Rock Scavenger Hunt on April 14th, 2012 presented by Rock to the Future. The super fun, family-friendly event will start at noon (registration begins at 11am!)  at Rock to the Future located at 2139 E Cumberland Street in Fishtown, Philadelphia, PA. REGISTER FOR THE EVENT AT RACEANDROCK.EVENTBRITE.COM

Find a friend (or ride solo!) and purchase either a Bike Team, Walk Team, or Solo ticket. A team is TWO people! Children age 12 or under can participate for free with a registered adult.

If you choose to bike, we will give you a map along with riddles, puzzles, and objects to find within Fishtown, Northern Liberties, Center City, South Philadelphia, and The Art Museum Area. If you choose to walk, you will solve puzzles, clues, and gather objects within the Northern Liberties and Fishtown neighborhoods. Ride or Walk at your own pace and enjoy the warm Spring weather with your team! When all clues are solved and objects gathered, head to our all ages after party to solve the final puzzle, win prizes, eat food, and hear some great live music!

All participants will receive:

-Free event tee shirt

-Free entry into all ages after party featuring music from Cheers Elephant, Conversations with Enemies, Vintage Kicks, and Plumes at Kung Fu Necktie

-Free beverages from sponsoring beverage company

-One free raffle ticket if you register online

-That warm fuzzy feeling in your heart knowing that you are supporting a good cause while enjoying Philadelphia on a nice Spring Day

You know we love the World Cafe Live! You haven’t been? Well this Sunday is a great opportunity for you to check out one of the hottest small venues in Philadelphia and support an awesome cause!

This Sunday, February 5th, come to World Cafe Live (3025 Walnut Street) to see local music and the Rock to the Future All Stars!

There will be live performances from local bands:
Polar Ice Cap
Polar Ice Cap is a Philly based three-piece indie rock band. They formed late in 2008 when some old high school friends decided they wanted to be back in a band that played straightforward fun, loud, and catchy music. They have been described as blending the tried and true pop sensibilities of bands like Built to Spill, Weezer, and Pavement, with the commanding wall-of-sound dynamics of Hum and My Bloody Valentine
The Danger O’s
A Full on spectrum of influences can be found in The Danger O’s sound including 60’s pop and psychedelia, 70’s punk, shoegaze, lo-fi, and classic alternative rock. The band is more comfortable than ever worshiping their rock heroes, and you can hear the influence of the Pixies, Elvis Costello, Guided by Voices, the Velvet Underground, the Ramones and many more throughout the bands new album”Play Their Hits.” For the first time, the Danger O’s recorded, produced, and mixed the entire record, and their inexperience and limited resources give the record a lo-fi charm.
Fast Car
Fast Car is a pop rock band from Philadelphia, PA. The group is a 3 piece that creates a captivating soundscape by infusing synth, piano, and violin parts with traditional hard-hitting drums and guitar.
Jampa!
“Jampa (“path” in Armenian) is an original jazz/blues/rock/world-beat musical adventure — a journey through complex rhythms, infectious grooves and evocative lyrics. Sounds of the Caribbean, Brazil, Africa and the Middle East infuse the unique sound of this jazzy sextet of top-notch performers.”

And to hear some tracks from the Rock to the Future All Star Band visit http://rocktothefuture.bandcamp.com .

The event is $8, all ages, and begins at 7:15!

You can also win: Dr. Dre Monster Beat Headphones (courtesy of Best Buy!), Cantina in South Philadelphia Gift Certificates, Lola Bean Cafe Gift Certificates, and signed posters from Katy B and The Horros (courtesy of MTV)!

In addition to receiving grants from Penn Treaty Special Services, Henrietta Tower Wurts, Union Benevolent Association, the community also helped out with fundraising. Last week we raised $1000+ during our fundraising events! First our students performed at the Rittenhouse Square Tree Lighting and then blew the socks off of Keller Williams at their Holiday Grand Opening Party. On Friday, local artists and bands (Crills Wilson, Best Westerns, Sunset Recorder, Little Light, and Rosa Diaz) gathered to support and raise funds for Rock to the Future at PhilaMOCA.

But we still have a long way to go until we are fully funded for the year! Now Rock to the Future is up for the Pepsi Refresh Grant! We can win $25,000, but need to be in the top 15 ideas. No doubt we have the absolute best program around, but we need you to vote to help us prove it! You can vote every single day from your computer and from your cell phone. Vote online by visiting: http://www.refresheverything.com/rocktothefuture and also text: 110507 to Pepsi (73774). Spread the word, and vote daily!

Curtis Institute of Music will be treating Rock to the Future again to a performance workshop on November 18th! We had such a great time last Spring with graduates Ben Folk and Ryan Seay and are excited to work with Curtis Institute again.

One of the world’s leading conservatories, Curtis is highly selective, with an enrollment of about 165. In this intimate environment, students receive personalized attention from a celebrated faculty. A busy schedule of performances is at the heart of Curtis’s distinctive “learn by doing” approach, which has produced an impressive number of notable artists since the school’s founding in Philadelphia in 1924.
From 4-6pm on November 18th, musicians from Curtis (guitar, violin, and more!) will be performing and holding a Q&A for Rock to the Future students. These highly trained musicians are giving back to the community and are educating young, at-risk musicians

The performance workshop will take place at Rock to the Future located at 2139 E Cumberland Ave 2nd Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19125. If you are interested in attending this special performance workshop please email RocktotheFuturePhilly@gmail.com.

On Friday, October 21st Rock to the Future and Cloud Entertainment invite you to come out to the BRAND NEW ROCK TO THE FUTURE SPACE (2139 E Cumberland St, Philadelphia 19125) to learn more about these important organizations that give back to the community. Rock to the Future provides at-risk, disadvantaged Philadelphia youth with FREE music education and academic assistance. Students learn guitar, bass guitar, drums, or keyboards, form bands, and write original music. They receive daily homework help and attend weekly music and educational workshops. As budget cuts continue to threaten arts programs in schools, these students do not have the opportunity to receive the benefits of music education.

Cloud Entertainment provides local musicians with great local and national events and helps multiple DIY venues and art spaces with music and art events.

The program has just moved into a BRAND NEW location this year and we want you to come check it out!
Many people put a lot of hard time and work into making this a great place for children to learn and for local Philadelphia based events to be created. Thanks for local design company Marguerite Rodgers Ltd. and local artists: Kristyn Fayewicz, Eric Remer, Eric Kennedy, & Jesse Rinyu for designing a colorful and exciting mural that provides a back drop to the Rock to the Future performance and rehearsal stage.

COME TO THE OPEN HOUSE ON OCTOBER 21ST FROM 4-8PM!

THERE WILL BE:
-HOURLY PERFORMANCES FROM RTTF STUDENT BANDS
-PERFORMANCES FROM LOCAL SONGWRITERS
-FREE REFRESHMENTS
-Q&A WITH RTTF STAFF AND CLOUD ENTERTAINMENT
-MEET AND GREET

Come see what we are all about!

Rock to the Future has had the great pleasure of working with Melanie and Jesse from Marguerite Rodgers Ltd. design company and local artists Eric Remer, Eric Kennedy, Jesse Rinyu, and Kristyn Faywicz to design our new located on the 2nd floor of St Michael’s Church in Fishtown.

Melanie and Jesse provided wonderful probono design advice to help us create a bright, comfortable environment!

We are also proud to announce the addition of a large mural to our new location! With artwork completed on a volunteer basis by Eric Remer, Eric Kennedy, Jesse Rinyu, and Kristyn Faywicz, this canvas completes the backdrop of our performing arts stage. These locals artists collaborated over a course of a week to complete the mural earlier this month. Complete with rockstar spacemen, sci-fi creatures singing rainbows of music, and not-so-scary monsters playing guitar, this colorful piece is a great example of local artists creating and giving back to the community.

Please visit us on October 14th for an open house to see the entire location and see exactly what Rock to the Future is all about!

Do you want to learn guitar, bass, keyboards, or drums? Do you want to attend a fun, educational program for FREE?

Rock to the Future is now accepting new students for the 2010-2011 program year! We will be accepting up to 12 new students for this coming year. The deadline to apply is August 6th – but we will accept applications until the program is filled. So if you miss the deadline – please still turn in an application! Requirements: Applicants must reside in Philadelphia , come from a low- to moderate income household, and be between the ages 9-14. Musical experience is NOT necessary! Visit our APPLY page and/or contact RocktotheFuturePhilly@gmail.com for details!

Check out this article from The Fishtown Spirit about our program: http://spiritnewspapers.com/rock-on-philadelphia-p1584-113.htm

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ALSO, this Saturday is Rock and Read Fest – presented by Cloud Entertainment! Harry and the Potters along with other family friendly wizard rock bands and great local band Mischief Brew will perform at Bookspace (1113 Frankford) from 2-10pm Saturday July 30th. A portion of the proceeds will benefit Rock to the Future. This is sure to be an exciting and fun event!

Rock to the Future students had their final showcase at World Cafe Live on June 5th! We made over $1,100 and there was an audience of 100+ for the students! THANK YOU for your support!

Students performed an amazing 1.5 hour show with songs from Elvis, Paramore, and everything in between. And even more amazing, the showcase was featured on the 11pm CBS news.

Also, thank you to amazing local bands Grandchildren, Creeping Weeds, and The Grand Nationals. Incredibly talented local bands, you should definitely check them out.

And check out Grandchildren’s performance!