To further empower youth voices from all backgrounds through music education.
To creatively connect young people through music by providing an inclusive community and developing young peoples' leadership skills.
By adhering to these values, we aim to create a lasting and positive impact on the lives of young people, fostering a sense of unity, resilience, and joy through the universal language of music. Together, we strive to build a harmonious world where every youth can reach their full potential.
YEAH! is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charitable youth arts organization in Nashville, Tennessee, founded to further empower young people ages 6-17 through music.
YEAH! prioritizes expanded diversity among its students, teachers, volunteers, staff, and its board. YEAH! reaches out to underrepresented populations, such as our non-English speaking, LGBTQ+, neurodiverse, and Title 1 public school communities in Middle Tennessee. We encourage their participation in our organization and programs, making YEAH! reflective of the community’s strength.
YEAH! values diversity of age, race, economic status, gender expression, size, physical ability, developmental ability, musical interests, learning styles, nationality, religion, and sexual orientation. We promote respect and do not tolerate racism, sexism, homophobia, or other discriminatory behavior or expression.
Our summer camp, weekend, and public school programs support social responsibility and self-esteem. Participants gain proficiency on an instrument of their choice (bass, drums, guitar, keyboard, ukulele, or vocals); work together as a band; songwrite and compose music; attend workshops and live performances; and showcase their work at the end of each program.
More broadly, participants take risks and create art representative of their similarities and uniqueness. Band collaborations develop entrepreneurial and life skills that lead to future success in all fields.
YEAH!’s lending library provides personal instruments, and our scholarship program removes financial barriers for applicants.
YEAH! traces its roots to 2003, when Middle Tennessee State University student Kelley Anderson organized the first Southern Girls Rock Camp – the world’s second females-only rock camp ever. It was a joint project of the Women for Women student organization and the June Anderson Women’s Center. Inspired by her experience volunteering at a girls’ rock camp in Portland, Oregon, Anderson envisioned a more egalitarian music community in Tennessee.
YEAH! was founded in 2006 by Anderson, Anna Fitzgerald, Courtney Vickers, Andrew Jacks, Ryan York, and Nicole Tekulve to extend SGRC’s values and enable self-expression for youths from all backgrounds through yearlong music education programming. YEAH! has increasingly connected participants who have limited access to music education. It moved away from its volunteer run model to providing equitable wages for local teaching artists. Collaborations with community organizations have supported our programs’ planning, promotion, recruitment, and curriculum. The organization’s scholarship fund was made for all applicants, regardless of economic background or status.