Trombone Shorty Foundation and Acura are on a Mission to Save New Orleans Music Culture

Acura has supported the New Orleans music and arts scene for more than two decades, helping make music a powerful soundtrack to the brand’s precision crafted performance direction. This year marks the 10th anniversary of Acura as presenting sponsor of Shorty Fest, the flagship fundraising event for the Trombone Shorty Foundation.

Trombone Shorty is the stage name of Troy Andrews, the world-famous musician from New Orleans. The partnership delivers year-round support for music education, mentorship, and cultural preservation far beyond the one-night event.

We spoke to Bill Taylor, Founding Executive Director of the Trombone Shorty Foundation, and Jennifer Symington, Assistant Vice President of Marketing for American Honda, about how this collaboration shapes young lives and keeps the city’s rich musical heritage alive.

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Acura Marks 10 Years as Presenting Sponsor of Shorty Fest

The Trombone Shorty Foundation was founded in 2012 when New Orleans was still recovering from Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Many of the neighborhoods that produced the city’s legendary jazz, brass band, and funk music had been flooded. As the city rebuilt, those areas began to gentrify, changing the landscape the cultural and music landscape.

“The idea at the time was to keep the culture alive and change some young lives through the power of music” – Bill Taylor, Trombone Shorty Foundation

Legendary musicians lived right down the block from Andrews as a child. “Troy grew up in a neighborhood called Tremé, which is one of the deepest cultural neighborhoods in New Orleans,” said Taylor. “He recognized the need to hold onto the culture here, the music culture, the jazz, the brass band, the funk, all that stuff that when he was a kid, he was learning in the neighborhood, right in the streets,”

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How Acura’s Support Fuels Trombone Shorty Foundation Year-Round Programs

Shorty Fest serves as the foundation’s biggest night of the year during Jazz Fest. A significant portion of the annual budget comes directly from this event. Acura’s decade long commitment as presenting sponsor has allowed the organization to expand its reach and serve far more young musicians. It’s a program that Acura is happy to support.

“We could not be prouder of our long-term relationship and the impact we have made together over the past decade,” – Jennifer Symington, Acura

That support means more kids get served, more opportunities are created, and the foundation can continue its important work throughout the year. “As the official transportation partner of the Shorty Foundation it is our honor to provide free transportation, so all of the students enrolled in the program have the opportunity to participate year-round,” said Symington.

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Trombone Shorty Foundation Empowers Next Generation With Music as Superpower

The foundation takes students beyond New Orleans, exposing them to new places, cultures, and possibilities for the future. Music becomes their passport while New Orleans remains their foundation as they build skills for life. Troy Andrews himself stands as a living example for every participant, showing them that they can accomplish whatever goals they set.

“The world is their oyster, whether it’s music or whatever they choose to get into. Hopefully we have empowered them,” said Troy. It’s more than providing a musical education. It’s also about instilling students with confidence, curiosity, and a solid foundation. “We focus a lot on getting the kids that we work with outside of New Orleans. We do trips all the time now and really expose them to other places, other cultures, other students.”

“They can go out there with music as their superpower and New Orleans as their superpower and do whatever they want in the world.” – Bill Taylor, Trombone Shorty Foundation

“New Orleans, for all of its beauty, can also be very isolating in some ways especially if you are a young person of color,” said Taylor.  “Music provides an opportunity to rise above some of those challenges. It’s what happened with Shorty.”

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Why Acura Invests in Emerging Artists and New Orleans Cultural Preservation

It’s not uncommon to see automakers invest in STEM-related organizations. It makes sense since it takes legions of engineers to build a car. It may seem surprising for Acura to invest so heavily in the arts, but the brand sees strong alignment between its values and the work happening through the Trombone Shorty Foundation.

“The values of our company have always been rooted in what we say is being a company that society wants to exist. And this is one of the ways we do this on the Acura side of the house” – Jennifer Symington, Acura

“Acura is the proud sponsor of things like the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach which ties to our racing and our engineering heritage. But Acura has always been focused on emerging artists,” said Symington. “We sponsor the Sundance Film Festival and a lot of their programs. And we have a long history here in New Orleans with 10 years with Trombone Shorty.”

This year Trombone Shorty is celebrating his 40th birthday as Acura is celebrating its 40th year in the United States. These shared milestones make the partnership even more meaningful. It’s a collaboration that empowers the next generation of musicians while preserving the unique cultural heartbeat of New Orleans.