Music Rising Helps Gulf Coast

During a recent visit to New Orleans, U2‘s The Edge announced plans for Music Rising, a campaign to raise funds to replace the lost instruments and accessories of musicians affected by the hurricanes that recently devastated the Gulf Coast region.

Lead partners Gibson Guitar and Guitar Center Music Education Foundation have spearheaded the effort by collaborating on the design, manufacture and sale of an exclusive guitar with all proceeds going to the cause.

A limited quantity of the of the instruments will be sold at Guitar Center and each will be individually painted and handmade so no two will be alike.

Other partners include Ticketmaster, Clear Channel Entertainment, VH1 and MTV Networks.

The application and qualification process for musicians will be handled by MusiCares, which has already provided more than $1.5 million in assistance to Gulf Coast musicians, a press release said.

“Providing replacement instruments through Music Rising will not only help the professional musicians to regain a foothold on their future, but will also ensure that one of the Gulf Coast’s greatest assets – its music – will rise again,” The Edge said.

In addition to purchasing the Music Rising guitar, interested supporters can contribute to the cause by visiting musicrising.org.