ZUMIX Walk For Music Great Opportunity To Support Local Kids

The 2024 ZUMIX Walk for Music is here. Get involved and give local youth empowerment programs a leg up this summer and into the coming school year.

If you're not wise to ZUMIX, let's get you wised up. Bob Grove and Madeleine Steczynski founded ZUMIX in East Boston back in 1991. A response to youth violence in Boston, it started as a summer songwriting program for 24 kids with just a $200 budget.

Two years later, ZUMIX launched a free outdoor summer concert series. Three decades later, the program serves over 1000 youths annually from The Firehouse in East Boston, offering arts-based programming. They even have a radio station! Take a look.

Walk for Music is one of ZUMIX's biggest annual fundraisers. The aim is to keep costs low for the 7 to 18-year-olds learning songwriting and performance, creative media and technology, musical theater, private lesson instruction, and instrumental ensembles.

As co-founder and Executive Director Madeleine Steczynski puts it: "It’s a time to gather together, celebrate our work, and spread the word about how music and the creative arts can empower young people and transform their lives and communities."

The event takes place on Sunday, July 14 at 3 p.m. Walkers gather at the ZUMIX Firehouse at 260 Sumner Street in East Boston to register. If you're not keen to walk, you can make a donation here. And after the walk? A free ZUMIX Summer Concert in Piers Park.

You know I'm a fan of anything that empowers young people to make music. I've seen firsthand the fine work that ZUMIX is doing for young people in East Boston and for that community in general. Get into the Walk for Music and see for yourself.

To celebrate Banner 18, here's a playlist with a song for each of the Celtics Championship years, from 2024 back to 1957.

2024 is the year the Celtics finally landed that elusive Banner 18, with a decisive NBA Finals win over the Dallas Mavericks in five games. Winning it all on 6/17/24 was a nice callback to the team's last Championship clincher on 6/17/08.

Sixteen years between trophies is a long time to wait for Celtics fans. And five years between duckboat parades is a long time to wait for Boston sports fans. But the rally is rolling. And as we celebrate, it's important to have a soundtrack and context.

The Boston Celtics won their first Championship in 1957. They defeated the St. Louis Hawks in seven games behind the coaching of Red Auerbach and the play of future Hall of Famers Bill Russell, Bob Cousy, and Tommy Heinsohn.

From there, the team dominated the late '50s and the entirety of the '60s, winning 11 titles in 13 seasons. The Celtics had well-documented stretches of dominance in the mid '70s and mid '80s as well. And who can forget that magical 2008 season?

So how do you soundtrack a 67-year span? Well, when you're ROCK 92.9, you go back to each one of those victory years and find a song that rocks. Some songs will capture the spirit of their particular year, others will be Celtics-centric.

I'm going to start with the current year and work my way back. And as a lifelong Celtics fan and Boston rock DJ for over 25 years, I'm going to add some personal flourishes where it makes sense. I hope you enjoy the music and the trip down memory lane.

We'll start with some Green Day for Gang Green. The band released their new album Saviors in January of 2024; here's a track we've been playing on ROCK 92.9. Because now that the Celtics have won it all, Banner 18 feels like a no-brainer.

I have fond memories of the '08 playoff run. I was the midday host at the late, legendary Rock of Boston, WBCN. That meant I got to broadcast live during all the victory parade debauchery as it rolled down Boylston St. No rest for the wicked indeed.

The '86 Championship. Sweet 16. Bird, Parish, McHale, DJ, Ainge, Walton. A basketball sledgehammer. One of the greatest Celtics teams ever.

A seven-game nailbiter that was the high point of the Celtics-Lakers rivalry of that era (for Celtics fans, at least). Gotta go with something from 1984 to celebrate 1984, right?

Bird, McHale, and Parish. Tiny Archibald. Cedric Maxwell as Finals MVP. Some '82 Gang Green for the '81 Gang Green.

Another Boston band for another Boston Celtics Championship. After winning it all in '74, then missing the Finals in '75, the Cs were Back in the Saddle in '76.

As you've probably figured out by this point in the playlist, if I have the opportunity to feature a Boston band, I'm going to feature a Boston band. So some '74 J. Geils for the '74 Champs.

That strange 1969 Final where Jerry West was named MVP...even though the Lakers lost to the Celtics. Talk about an Oddity.

Now that we're traveling back in time to the '60s dynasty years for the Celtics, I'll do my best to add some real '60s classic to the playlist. Like "Born To Be Wild."

Another Celtics-Lakers seven-game classic. Russel, Havlicek, Jones and Jones leading the charge for the Green. Good vibes all-around.

A funny thing happened on the way to the '65 Finals: Havlicek stole the ball. So let's pause the music and pay tribute to an all-time Celtics moment.

By the time the '64 Finals rolled around, the Celts had won it all five years running. This made six (of what would eventually be eight). That's a reason to dance in the street.

What song do I choose to celebrate '63? I've already had a Beach Boys track. So it's gotta be the Beatles.

This best-of-seven battle between the Celtics and the Lakers was a special one: it was decided in OT in Game 7. And it was a victory for the Green.

A notable year not for the Celtics, but for the team they beat. The Hawks franchise hasn't made it back to the Finals since losing to the Celts in '61. That's crazy.

The Celtics kicked off their magical decade of the '60s with a seven-game victory over the aforementioned St. Louis Hawks. This year would be the last year the Finals were played in the month of March. So a last dance for 1960 it is.

Back in '59, the Lakers played in Minneapolis. This was the first meeting in the Celtics-Lakers rivalry, and the Celtics swept 'em in four. Murdered 'em like Stagger Lee.

The last year on our playlist. The first year the Celtics won a Championship. We'll end it all with The King.