Event Program:

• 4:30 PM Doors open, check in
• 5 PM Show begins with an introduction by Val
• 5:15 PM Performace by Guitars Over Guns Students
• 5:30 PM Performance by The Shades
• 6 PM Meet & Greet with Guitars Over Guns Students & Staff

Guitars Over Guns offers students from our most vulnerable communities a powerful combination of music education and mentorship with professional musicians to help them overcome hardship, find their voice and reach their potential as tomorrow’s leaders.

Guitars Over Guns Organization (GOGO) launched at the UCAN Academy on Chicago's west side in 2014, and a year later, opened its flagship program in Chicago Public Schools at Evergreen Academy Middle School. We harness the talent and compassion of Chicago’s diverse local music and arts community to train an annual cohort of professional arts mentors. Our Chicago region now encompasses the South, West, and Southwest sides of our city, with a variety of in-school, after-school, community-based, and summer programs offered at no cost.

Val Haller is founder/CEO of the music website Valslist.com (launched 10 years ago) – first music site specifically created to help busy adults keep up with new music. She is a member of 2112 music [startup incubator] at Fort Knox Studios, Chicago; writes the music column for Make It Better magazine and BA50 blog; authored a weekly “Music Match” series for the New York Times; is a regular guest on the morning television show “You & Me This Morning” (WCIU “The U”); launched an indie concert series at Chicago Botanic Garden, writes a personal music blog mini music note, and hosts a long-running professional house concert series in her Chicago home which has expanded to private country clubs, ad agency gigs and other corporate events.

Paul Natkin is world-renowned music photographer who has photographed major music stars since the mid-1960s, including Miles Davis, Frank Sinatra, the Rolling Stones, Prince, Tina Turner, and countless others. His images have appeared in Creem, Ebony, Jet, Newsweek, People, Rolling Stone, and Spin, among others, as well as numerous album covers. Natkin has worked as a road manager for Brian Wilson, a staff photographer for the Oprah Winfrey Show, and works with charities such as Farm Aid and Guitars Over Guns. Natkin’s celebrated music photography has also been the subject of solo exhibitions at both the Elmhurst Historical Museum, the Ed Paschke Art Center and the Chicago Cultural Center as was recently included in Let’s Get Funky at the Beverly Arts Center.

The Shades are a Chicago-based pop trio comprised of NBC 'The Voice' contestant, Andrew DeMuro, and brothers Phil and Mark Jacobson. Equipped primarily with their voices and acoustic guitars, The Shades draw on a variety of influences to create an uncommonly good blend of pop, rock, folk, and soul. Impressive arrangements, tight harmonies, and creative mashups are hallmarks of The Shades’ live act, which has reached thousands of audience members between Chicago's City Winery, Navy Pier, and Lincoln Hall, with appearances on Windy City Live and WGN along the way.

Val is graciously hosting her own large House Concert; and you can host one, too! Guitars Over Guns is kicking off a House Concert Series in which supporters host an intimate concert in their home with 25-35 guests they believe would be interested in learning about and donating to Guitars Over Guns. Want to host your own house concert? Click here, and we'll be in touch!