Last week, on April 14th, Metallica vocalist and guitarist James Hetfield made a pre-recorded appearance during the 2021 Little Kids Rock Virtual Benefit, which can be seen below.

Hetfield commented, "Music has saved my life daily. It has been a passion of mine since the early, early times. Music has been an outlet for me, it has been a connection, it has been a best friend for me for my whole life."

"Having an option for music, music at schools, I'm an advocate for having an opportunity and a place for people to at least explore that. And if they find it helpful, that's great. And it could turn out to be a wonderful career. I'm here as an example of how music has saved lives."

Little Kids Rock transforms lives by restoring, expanding, and innovating music education in our schools. Our network of thousands of K-12 teachers across 48 states leads a national movement that brings innovative and inclusive music education to students.

Using genres including rock, pop, Latin, and rap, our program empowers teachers to build music programs as diverse as the kids they serve. Our students see themselves reflected in their classes, which strengthens their connection to their school, their peers, and their community. Little Kids Rock also donates necessary instruments, and curriculum, meeting a key need of many school music programs.

The world of music expands through innovation. We ensure that music education does as well.

More than 500,000 kids currently participate in Little Kids Rock programs nationwide. Since 2002, the organization has reached more than 1,000,000 students with highly-inclusive and culturally relevant music education.