Music Foundation gives kids guitars

SHREVEPORT, La., Aug. 23 (UPI) -- A gathering of 878 guitarists in Shreveport, La., gave children a chance to jam with artists such as James Burton and Al Di Meola, event organizers said.

The James Burton International Guitar Festival, held Saturday in Shreveport, is sponsored by the James Burton Foundation. Many children were able to participate in the festival because the foundation donates guitars and services to schools, the Shreveport Times reported.

The foundation provides technical training, free guitars and music lessons to young musicians, it says on its Web site.

The festival is a fundraiser for the foundation, which has donated more than 1,800 instruments to area schools since it started in 2003, the newspaper reported.

"He's been a really good help to our school," Chase Rogers, 11, said of Burton. "Because of him, we've gotten a lot more guitars."

Burton, who was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001, has recorded with such musicians as Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, John Denver, Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis Costello, Roy Orbison, Joni Mitchell and Ricky Nelson.