Letter to the Performers

The following is the letter that went out to all the performers, after they took a leap of faith to make this happen. We cannot begin to express our heartfelt gratitude. Not just for contributing their considerable talents, but more so because they took that leap of faith. As usual, musicians are among the first to pitch in when called upon. These performers are worthy of your attention if for no other reason. That they are also so talented is a great bonus! Please let them feel your appreciation for their contribution to our endeavor.

Hello

As a friend of the "Off the Grid Music Festival " we thought it time to say thank you, and to share with you the larger vision of our organization, Rhythm and Roots. My name is George Tollefson, and you can find my bio, the bios of my wife Ruby, and our partner, Larry Bailey, your Talent Coordinator for the concerts and festival, on our Community page at:
http://www.rockthefuture.org/community.htm and http://www.rockthefuture.org/bios.htm

It is our hope and intention to put your music on display in front of a diverse and attentive audience of concerned and involved fellow citizens who will greatly appreciate all our collective efforts, to give you an opportunity to network with other bands, an opportunity to sell your CDs and merchandise, and to promote you to all whom we come in contact with. This is one piece of a program called Rock the Future!

Rock the Future! is a program designed by Rhythm and Roots. Rock the Future! is a vision about how we can make the world we live in better today. It is about finding solutions to issues that concern all of us. Sustainability is at the core of those. We believe the definition of a more sustainable world should include dealing with issues of poverty, education, violence, intolerance, and global warming among others.

We believe that education through public awareness campaigns is an effective tool for social change. We further believe that the musical and entertainment stages of the world have long been a powerful vehicle for making political, social, and environmental statements.

To this end, the primary activity of a new Rhythm and Roots 501c3 Foundation, is to produce a series of concerts and productions for and on behalf of community based nonprofit groups creating visibility and increasing awareness for the performers and those community groups. Rock the Future! is a musical umbrella under which community groups, charities, performers, businesses, and the general public can bond through a common, shared experience to create an atmosphere of hope and change.

In practical terms, we are inviting community groups to set up booths, network and mingle with other groups, and do outreach from the stage between performers, at no cost to them. All with the backdrop of great live music.

The "Off the Grid Music Festival " August 16-17 is the first of what we hope is a long series of productions. We will not forget those who’s faith in our vision makes all this possible. Your music will bring the crowds. Those working at the grass roots to bring social and environmental change will have access to those crowds for education and outreach. They will not forget you either.

We encourage you to check out these groups. We also encourage you to send us the names of groups you believe could benefit from greater visibility and outreach. All of us have causes we support, so feel free to send us those you’d like us to help.

We have posters and flyers ready to mail to you. All we need is an address. Please respond to this mailing with a contact and address to whom we can send a package containing flyers and posters. We will not send anything else, nor will we give or sell your address to anyone.

Your MySpace friends list is a key tool in driving traffic toward the festival. Please begin sending bulletins to your fans alerting them to the festival and getting tickets through our webpage or directly at TicketsWest. In addition, when you reply to this mailing you can also let us know how many All-Access passes your band will need. There are 2 All-Access passes good for 2 days available to each member, and your agent/manager should they decide to come, too.

Again, thank you for your willingness to take us on with little more than a few words and a date on the calendar. We hope to repay your faith with a great time on The Ranch and a few more steps on the road to a better world that we are all part of building.

George Tollefson
Rhythm and Roots