The All-Ages Music Movement: How It Impacts Culture, Civic Engagement, and Leadership

In towns all across the United States, young people are using music and art to make interesting, creative, and positive things happen in their communities. They are punks, rappers, educators, singer-songwriters, artists, and community organizers who carve out safe creative spaces for people to come together. This paper by Shannon Stewart characterizes youth-based music organizations that are fostering civic engagement through music. Stewart provides a current view of these groups as preface to the 2007 All-Ages Movement Project Project Report. The All-ages Movement Project (AMP), a network of organizations that connect young people through independent music and art, is focused on personal and community transformation facilitated by youth-driven cultural organizations engaged in popular music and art. These community-based organizations connect youth through cultural creation and production. Their cultural influence is examined in three areas of interest: cultural products, civic impact, and alternative leadership development opportunities. These organizations contribute to cultural and social change through producing independent culture, nurturing an ethic of civic engagement, and incubating strong youth leaders.