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A group of Albany High School student-musicians will get a real-world opportunity to show off their talents later this month thanks to The Egg and the Grammy-winning bluegrass band Steep Canyon Rangers, and support from Can’d Aid and the Albany Fund for Education.

Albany High’s Jazzmanian Devils, the school's advanced jazz ensemble, will be the opening act when Steep Canyon Rangers play at The Egg's Lewis A. Swyer Theatre on Saturday, Sept. 26. Under the direction of John Halvorsen, the Jazzmanian Devils will perform from 7-8 p.m. that evening. Steep Canyon Rangers will follow.

“We emphasize the importance of creating authentic experiences for all of our students to develop their skills and interests through real-world, hands-on opportunities like this,” said City School District of Albany Superintendent Joseph Hochreiter.

“Mr. Halvorsen actively seeks out opportunities like this for our student-musicians in our community, and we are deeply grateful to The Egg and Steep Canyon Rangers for their partnership in creating what we know will be a memorable night for our students and their families.”

This opportunity initially was planned as a field trip for Albany High’s student-musicians to attend the Steep Canyon Rangers concert, supported by a $1,000 Music Teacher Grant from .

matched the grant, doubling the support available to help ensure students could purchase tickets and experience the performance live.

The opportunity then blossomed into something even bigger through conversations with The Egg and the band: an invitation for the Jazzmanian Devils to take the stage themselves and open the show.

“The support from AFE and Can’d Aid for our students to attend this show, and the enthusiasm and flexibility that both The Egg and Steep Canyon Rangers showed in expanding this into an amazing performance opportunity, have been just outstanding,” Hochreiter said. “We are incredibly fortunate to have such wonderful, supportive partners!”

The collaboration brings together three nonprofit organizations – Can’d Aid, Albany Fund for Education and The Egg – pooling resources and relationships to maximize their impact for Albany High’s young musicians. The connection to Steep Canyon Rangers made the opportunity especially meaningful. 

The Grammy-winning band has served as for more than a decade, supporting the nonprofit’s work to expand access to music education and inspire the next generation of musicians.

“We’re excited to be partnering with the music students from Albany public schools,” said band member Graham Sharp. “Steep Canyon Rangers were all band kids growing up and we’re thrilled to be working with Can’d Aid to make this collaboration happen. Long live the arts in our public schools!”

Tickets for the Sept. 26 concert are available through The Egg box office and , with a 10% discount using the code STEEP10.

About Steep Canyon Rangers

One of America's pre-eminent bluegrass bands, have long occupied a singular space in American roots music. From their earliest recordings, the band demonstrated an unusual ability to honor traditional bluegrass forms while allowing contemporary songwriting, literary influence and regional storytelling to seep naturally into the music.

Over time, this balance earned them both bluegrass credibility and broader acclaim, culminating in a Best Bluegrass Album Grammy Award for 2013’s Nobody Knows You, additional nominations for Rare Bird Alert (2012) and North Carolina Songbook (2020), and an induction into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame.

They tour on their own and in support of actor-comedian-musician Steve Martin. Steep Canyon Rangers played a sold-out show at The Palace Theater in Albany last winter with Martin and Martin Short.

About The Egg

is the Empire State Plaza’s Center for the Performing Arts.

An unmistakable feature of Albany’s skyline, the venue houses two theatres, the Lewis A. Swyer Theatre (450 seats) and the Kitty Carlisle Hart Theatre (982), encased in a domed, egg-like concrete structure that took 12 years to construct and was completed in 1978. The Egg presents music, art, theatre, comedy, dance and family entertainment year-round.

The Egg is owned by the State of New York and managed by the not-for-profit Nelson A. Rockefeller Empire State Plaza Performing Arts Center Corporation. The entity’s mission is to present quality performances accessible to all New York citizens, highlighting unique and extraordinary artists from across the state and nation, and around the globe.

Through partnerships and collaborations, the corporation presents performances, spotlights emerging artists, fosters relationships with resident companies and enhances activities in cultural and arts education.

About Can’d Aid and Instruments for Change

is a national nonprofit committed to creating opportunities for young people to live healthy, active and creative lives.

Through its Instruments for Change program, Can’d Aid works to remove barriers to music education by putting instruments into students’ hands, supporting educators through Music Teacher Grants and connecting professional musicians with young people.

Can’d Aid’s Music Teacher Grants give educators resources to create opportunities that might otherwise be out of reach for their students. Steep Canyon Rangers have been part of Can’d Aid’s music programs for more than a decade as Tunes Ambassadors, lending their time and talents to help inspire young musicians and expand access to music education.

About the Albany Fund for Education

The is a nonprofit charitable organization that raises funds to enhance programming in the City School District of Albany. AFE connects good ideas with community resources to enrich the education and address challenges of students in the Albany school district. 

“Our mission at the Albany Fund for Education is to mobilize community partnerships and resources to expand opportunities, ignite curiosity, and support equitable learning experiences for our students and educators in Albany,” said AFE Executive Director Mari Shopsis. “This collaboration bringing together the district, The Egg and outside financial resources to offer Albany students a truly unique experience is a perfect example of our mission in action. 

“How many students from other districts can say that they had the chance to open for a Grammy Award-winning band at The Egg?!"