WimBash

MUSIC FESTIVAL SERIES

our story.

OUR MISSION.

Synonymous with Doug Wimbish, Doug's personal venture, WimBash, continues to be both a vision and a mission. WimBash, as a community and family based, musical and educational festival has redefined how we look at pro-active involvement in making change. The event has established its name by leveraging the passion and talents of professional musicians by connecting them with groundbreaking programs in music, culture and quality education. WimBash features Doug playing with a number of world-class collaborators, as well as select local bands, providing the opportunity to see musicians, who more often play large venues around the world, in a much more intimate setting. WimBash is unique in that it brings together an eclectic group of music genres under one roof, utilizing the local talent alongside well-known artists while working together with a local foundation or organization in giving back directly to the community.

It is Doug’s strong personal belief to share the knowledge and gifts bestowed on him and other musicians, passing the passion, history, culture, integrity and soul of music on to future generations. Recognizing the power that music creates and instills for a child - strengthening self confidence, responsibility, listening skills, creativity, cognition, social development and personal growth - Doug has used his forty-five plus years experience in the music industry to connect musicians of all ages, skill levels and cultures together in a collective, interactive and fun environment. WimBash offers a platform for creativity, self expression and positive reinforcement, highlighting the achievements of young musicians, while promoting opportunity for all children, both nationally and internationally, to have access to quality music programs.

OUR HISTORY.

WimBash, founded by legendary Grammy award winning rock band Living Colour bassist Doug Wimbish, initially started in 2004 as a welcome home party for Doug’s close friend, mentor and fellow Sugar Hill Band mate Skip McDonald. The event was held at Hartford CT’s Sully's Pub, a small, hometown venue owned by his friend, Darrell Sullivan. Doug chose the venue as a way to honor Darrell’s impassioned support of local music, as Sully’s Pub was the only venue in the community offering live music 7 days a week. As the industrial hip-hop & funk band “Tack>>Head” members joined Doug in honoring Skip, the 2004 event quickly aligned itself into what would become Tack>>Head’s first live performance in nearly 15 years.

While the initial event in 2004 wasn’t actually termed a WimBash, the celebration was so successful that it served as the catalyst for the creation of what Doug, the following year, in 2005, would entitle “WimBash” - an annual celebration of music and community.

Over the years, WimBash has developed from the initial get together with family, friends and musicians to a highly anticipated event and music festival series, anchoring itself in the communities it visits. WimBash has become an annual event at a number of destinations upon the request of organizations, non-profits, schools, cities, sponsors, businesses, fellow musicians and fans. Doug and his production company, Nova Sound Studios, LLC, have taken the WimBash Music Festival Series on the road to cities in North America, Europe and the Dominican Republic. While maintaining the grass roots, organic and community based nature of the event, WimBash has been fortunate to work with organizations including The DREAM Project (Dominican Republic Education And Mentoring Project), The School of Rock, The Miami Design Preservation League, The Backbeat Foundation (New Orleans), The City of West Haven, CT, RockHouse School of Music, The NAMM Foundation, Hartford Performs and The City of New Haven, CT.

OUR IMPACT.

FUNDRAISING
WimBash Cabarete 2012, featuring Ms. Lauryn Hill, Eric Gales & Doug Wimbish, was one of the lead supporters of the 2012-2013 DREAM Project’s DREAM Music Program. WimBash, set on the beach in the tropical paradise that is Cabarete, DR, welcomed some 2500+ fans to the event, raising over $12,000 for the DREAM project. The combined efforts and fundraising through WimBash, the DREAM Project and its supporters enabled the hiring of a full time Music Teacher for the DREAM Project.
MENTORSHIP
As a musician, Jaeme Brennan McDonald had participated in WimBash since its inception. As WimBash expanded to national and international locations, Jaeme’s roll began to shift from performer to organizer and production. In May of 2018, Jaeme earned his Bachelor in Professional Studies in Music Production from Berklee College. Jaeme credits WimBash with completely influencing him towards his career in production. “WimBash helped me understand that this industry is about a lot more than just me. It made me want to do production more than play - it changed how I looked at everything. I never thought it could happen in that direction, but I’m so glad it did. It [WimBash] put me in a role that I was suited for, but didn’t see.”
COMMUNITY
When the Covid-19 Pandemic forced distance learning for New Haven, CT, Wilbur Cross High School band teacher Kendall Alderman’s students, Kendall wrote to Doug asking if WimBash could help: "I have 58 enrolled guitar students and 30 guitars. We usually share the guitars between the two classes but we need to be one-to-one because we are distance learning." Through the generous donation by Peavey of $13,000 worth of gear for the 2018 WimBash in New Haven, CT, WimBash answered the call, providing enough guitars and amps for each child to learn on under Kendall’s remote instruction.