What is Grace Weber’s Music Lab?
Grace Weber’s Music Lab is a FREE monthly music and arts education program for greater Milwaukee area middle and high school students, presented by HYFIN, a Radio Milwaukee station. At The Music Lab, students have the opportunity to learn about the music and entertainment industries through featured guests. They are also given the opportunity to collaborate, perform, and build relationships with their peers.
Who is the music lab for?
The Music Lab programming is geared towards teens ages 13-18. We also encourage family, friends & siblings to tag along to in-person sessions or join us via Livestream on the GWML Facebook page. In essence, GWML can be for everybody!
When does the Music Lab take place?
The Music Lab takes place the last Friday of every month during the school year from 5-7pm, with social hours at 4pm during student arrival.
Where does the Music Lab Happen?
Radio Milwaukee hosts each Music Lab at our Walker’s Point studios at 220 E. Pittsburgh Avenue, Milwaukee, WI 53204. As of May 2022, Music Lab events are also offered in a hybrid format, where viewers can stream each session virtually on Grace Weber’s Music Lab’s Facebook page.
What does the Music Lab Look like?
In-person Music Labs start with a student social hour at 4pm in the Radio Milwaukee Lobby. Here, we feature free food, a live DJ and a chance for students to connect with each other. After this, we kick off the Lab portion with a performance and interview with our featured guest, as well as a question and answer period with student inquiries. We then move into our Open Mic portion for student performers with constructive feedback and observations from our feature. Finally, we end with a workshop or performance with our featured guest, based on their artistic preferences and how they want to engage with our students.
Why do we do the Music Lab?
We believe that collaboration through music and the arts is critical to bridging the divides in Milwaukee communities. We hope that new friendships, collaborations — and maybe even Milwaukee’s next big musical force — will form out of the Music Lab. We want to give young people a space to create, be heard, and feel valued!
CO-FOUNDER: GRACE WEBER
Grace is a Grammy Award-Winning singer/songwriter hailing from Milwaukee, WI. Growing up singing in central Youth Gospel Choir of Milwaukee, her lifelong musical pursuits developed a soul-igniting vocal presence. Her talents have taken her from widespread recognition performing at the Apollo & the Oprah Winfrey Show, to touring & working alongside the likes of Chance the Rapper, Vic Mensa, TOBi, Jean Deaux & PJ Morton. She won her very first Grammy after penning the opening track on Chance the Rapper’s Coloring Book “All We Got” feat. Kanye West & Chicago Children’s Choir.
With over 10 million music streams on all platforms & the release of her sophomore album, “Paperflower,” her work has made its way to many prominent spaces, including two headlining tours & a debut live performance on the COLORS STUDIOS platform in Berlin (notably, a firsttime appearance for a Milwaukee artist.) When founding the Music Lab in 2017, she aimed to create a free & safe space for MKE students to create, be heard & feel valued, while learning about the music & entertainment industries through featured monthly guests & a teen open mic segment.
For more information about Grace Weber, please visit www.graceweber.com.
MUSIC LAB COORDINATOR: B~FREE
Singer, producer & multi-instrumentalist B~FREE, is a Milwaukee native who has dedicated her life to music. Her training in jazz & classical flute, voice & piano has earned her degrees in musical studies from the Milwaukee High-School of the Arts, Lincoln University of Pennsylvania & VanderCook College of Music. Along with an artistic career of nearly two decades, she also serves as the Music Ed Coordinator for Radio Milwaukee’s Youth Program, “Grace Weber’s Music Lab.”
B~Free’s self-produced sophomore album, “Ode 2 A Luv Affair LP,'' was met with much acclaim; including being hailed by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel as the “Number One Album of 2016” & by The Shepherd Express as an "immaculately constructed R&B record." In the span of her career, she has shared stages with a host of prominent artists, & served as direct opening support for Janelle Monae’s 2018 Milwaukee tour stop. Her curated online social media content has also received praise from the likes of Brandy, Missy Elliott & Lizzo.
She continues to release new music, with her latest including Deep House single, “Hate 2 Luv” feat. Durand Bernarr, & the self-produced multi-hyphenate anthem, “iProduce My Own Ish.”
For more information about B~Free, please visit www.bfree2music.com.