Honoring Music Legends: Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis Receive Vanguard Award at Guitar Center Music Foundation Gala
The Guitar Center Music Foundation is hosting its fourth annual Gala and Benefit Concert on September 11 at The Maybourne Hotel in Beverly Hills, California. The event will honor Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis with the Vanguard Award for their support of music education. The duo has written and produced numerous hits for artists such as Janet Jackson and Mariah Carey, and have won five Grammy Awards, including Producer of the Year (Non-Classical) in 1987. In addition to the Vanguard Award, the gala will also present the Lifetime Achievement Award to sound mixer John McBride. McBride is the owner of Blackbird Studio, located just outside of Nashville, and the institutional director of The Blackbird Academy. He is married to country star Martina McBride, a four-time winner of the CMA Award for Female Vocalist of the Year. The gala aims to raise awareness and funds for the foundation's mission to support musicians and music education. The event will also honor firefighters and first responders who battled the Los Angeles wildfires earlier this year. Additional efforts will be made to fund the Guitar Center Music Foundation Disaster Relief Program, which aids musicians impacted by the L.A. wildfires by assisting in replacing instruments and gear, and offering resources. Adam Blackstone will serve as musical supervisor for the event. Blackstone won a Primetime Emmy in 2022 as music director of The Pepsi Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show, which featured Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, and 50 Cent. He also won a Grammy earlier this year for his work on Alicia Keys' Hell's Kitchen, which was voted Best Musical Theater Album. The event is produced by the Guitar Center Music Foundation board of directors with Angelia Shepperd from ABS Collective, and with technical production by Nick Urbom from Big Push Media Group. For more information on the organization, visit the Guitar Center Foundation's website. To purchase tickets, which start at $500, visit the event's website.
