Tim Timberlake wants to take local musicians to school.
“We’re looking to bring in musicians in all genres,” says the co-chairman of JAMinc, which books concerts and promotes music education and appreciation. “And we want to make it easy and convenient for the schools to schedule them.”
The new JAMinc Outreach Collective will give principals and teachers in local public and private schools access to a roster of local and regional performing artists, available for shows in class or school auditoriums—at no cost to the school. The first artists signed up for the venture include singer-songwriters Susan Greenbaum, Ali Thibodeau (Deau Eyes) and Mackenzie Roark, country artist Brad Spivey, soul singer Ms. Jaylin Brown, bluegrass band The Hot Seats and Tampa Taiko, which specializes in Japanese drumming. [Full list of participants after the story.]
This initial roster is mostly made up of artists that JAMinc has worked with in the past. Timberlake says that the nonprofit is looking for more performers to join the collective’s ranks, especially those in more eclectic genres. “We’re up for anything,” he says.

In addition to producing a weekly Saturday radio show on VPM 93.1 and 107.3 FM (“JAMinc Presents”), the organization has for years helped to facilitate concerts at area public schools like Mary Munford Elementary and Maggie Walker Governor’s School, and private academies like Sabot School. The performers are usually national and international artists that JAMinc, founded in 2001, is booking elsewhere. “If we had an artist playing at In Your Ear or one of the other venues,” he says, “we would make it part of their deal that they do at least one, maybe two, school shows the day of their concert or after.”
Through these efforts, an estimated 100,000 area students have been treated to, among other forms of music, the African sounds of Crocodile River Music, the energetic bluegrass of A.J. Lee & Blues Summit, the Tuvan throat singing of Alash, and the theatrical pop of Nellie McKay. The new collective formalizes the proceedings while thinking locally. “We want to give our local Richmond community of musicians a way to perform in the schools too.”
The nonprofit has started reaching out to school administrators in Richmond and the counties, he says, adding that the school performances can be tailored to what the educators want. “Some could just be an auditorium performance or it could be a workshop kind of thing, teaching songwriting or harmony singing. It could have an educational component. It’s up to what the school, or the teacher, wants to accomplish.”

Ron Collins, the director of Tampa Taiko, can still vividly remember a high school production of “The Music Man” that he saw as a kid, “It really had an effect on me, and that’s what the arts can do for kids.” A Virginia native, and a graduate of Virginia Tech, he formed his Japanese drumming ensemble (after learning the art from a pedigreed sensei) in Florida in 2004. Tampa Taiko relocated to Richmond in 2020 and Collins today keeps up a rigorous touring schedule in the South and mid-Atlantic, playing everything from libraries and schools to corporate gigs. He not only performs on the drums—often solo but sometimes with backing drummers—he makes them, too. “Japanese drums are expensive,” he laughs.
The Taiko presentations often include tutorials on how he crafts his noisy skins from wine barrels, as well as hands-on instruction. “When I’m with the kids, and it’s not a huge group, I’ll have each one come up and play.”
For their appearances, JAMinc Outreach Collective members will be compensated by JAMinc at $300-$500, depending on the size of the group. “It’s a win-win for the schools,” Timberlake says. “And a way to spread the word about the artists in our local community.”
For more information, go to the JAMinc site.
The Jam Inc. Outreach Collective includes the following local performers:
Josh Bearman/The Hot Seats (old-time and bluegrass; stringband)
Ms. Jaylin Brown (R&B, soul)
Kyle Davis (singer-songwriter)
Ali Thibodeau / Deau Eyes (singer-songwriter; indie rock)

Chris Fuller (acoustic folk, Americana)
Susan Greenbaum (singer-songwriter, acoustic rock)
Tyler Meacham (singer-songwriter, pop)
Mackenzie Roark (singer-songwriter, Americana, country, rock)
Brad Spivey (traditional country)
Ron Collins/Tampa Taiko (traditional Japanese drumming)
Brad Tucker/The Taters (rock/pop/folk/country)