The Need

For 10 years, Weathervane Music has inspired countless music fans, from creators to supporters, with valuable stories of art, self-expression, and the creative process...


But as art can rarely be separated from the times in which it's made, the focus of our work has continually evolved to address current cultural concerns. Today, we think that deepening divisions within our society are the most critical issue we face. Weathervane is unique because we recognize that for every generation the creative vision of artists is really the ultimate source for much-needed solutions, unity and change.

For 10 years, we’ve always thought big, and now is no different. Weathervane's vision for 2019 and beyond, outlined below, is ambitious, but we are as confident as ever that we can bring our vision to life with sufficient resources.

So we need your help!

The true costs of producing a series like Shaking Through, even as the costs of making music and video have come down in the last decade, would likely be hundreds of thousands of dollars beyond Weathervane's budget. We know this financial story is unusual, and we chalk our success up to the passion and dedication of hundreds of great people throughout our history. We are forever grateful to all of those people.

Below, we invite you to read about our basic approach to Operations, Revenue and Programming in the coming year. If you have questions please contact Brian or Bill. We'll be happy to provide details about our plans!

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Operations:

Weathervane has a staff of 7, an active and dedicated Board of 4, and about 20 - 30 different independent contractors that help us produce projects and events.

Staff and Board

Brian McTear - Founder and Executive Director, Member - Board of Directors
Bill Robertson - Founder and Development Director (2019), Member - Board of Directors
Daniel Scholnick - Operations Officer
Gabe Greenberg - Creative Director, Producer / Director of Shaking Through
Julia Rainer - Community Director, Development Coordinator
Matt Poirier - Creative Associate: Audio Production, Graphic Design
Elijah Matoushek - Creative Associate: Video Assistant
Bill Hawkins - Treasurer, Board of Directors
Jason Smith - Member, Board of Directors
Kristin Thomson - Member, Board of Directors

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Revenue Streams:

Weathervane funds its programming by way of the following revenue streams.

Individual Gifts - 30%
Government & Foundations - 25%
Membership Fees - 21%
Corporate / In-kind - 16%
Licensing / Merchandise / Educational Products - 8%

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Weathervane Programs: The following outlines Weathervane’s vision for each program in the coming years.

Shaking Through

This is Weathervane's documentary recording series, currently in production for its 10th season in 2019. An acclaimed series, Shaking Through highlights the importance of creative self-expression in these times. It's an inspiring conversation, with exemplary recording artists, carried out as we produce a new song with them in the recording studio.

Our goal for Shaking Through in 2019 is to reach a wider audience with artists’ stories and our critical message about the importance of creative self-expression for society. Shaking Through episodes are all currently produced in Philadelphia. We want to expand the series to include travel, visiting other communities and cultures to learn what inspires musicians, and how they collaborate in other areas of the world.

In the next year we want to collaborate with a wider range of creators - from the biggest artists in the world, to ones that, quite frankly, you will never hear again anywhere else. Because fame and notoriety should no longer be the only measure when it comes to the quality of an artist's message.

With over 70 episodes, Shaking Through has reached millions of viewers, producing original, new songs and guest performances by the likes of Sharon Van Etten, Sufjan Stevens, Waxahatchee, Hop Along and Half Waif, along with appearances by members of The War on Drugs, Dr. Dog, Modern Baseball, Wilco, Grizzly Bear and many more.

Weathervane Membership levels provide an array of ways for supporters to engage with Shaking Through. Event Access Members can attend Shaking Through wrap parties at the end of production weekends in the studio. Remix Members can download the multitracks from Shaking Through recordings to learn from them, remix and share back with the community on the website. Sustaining Members can watch and listen to Shaking Through episodes before they are released to the public.

Upcoming Episodes in 2019

Season 10, Episode 1 - Collaboration w/ Songs in the Key of Free
Record date: January (TBA)
Release date: March (TBA)



In January 2019, Weathervane will be recording an episode in collaboration with Philadelphia's Songs in the Key of Free, a non-profit that works in the Pennsylvania prison system to teach inmate workshops on song-writing and production. The episode will feature a song by one of the formerly incarcerated song writers, focusing on the artist's story, their thoughts on music in their life, and their personal experience with writing music while in prison. This project has been a long time in the making, and we're excited for the ways it will expand the subject matter and breadth of Shaking Through.

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Season 10, Episode 2 - David Boring



Record date: March (TBA)

Release date: May (TBA)

In March 2019, Weathervane will record the Hong Kong band, David Boring. We first learned about this incredible band when they were featured characters in the 2018 Hong Kong episode of Anthony Bourdain’s Parts Unknown (see video below). In the short 8 minute segment, singer Janice Lau and Jason Cheung spoke about their sense of shrinking freedom of expression under the mainland Chinese government, as well as the difficulties of making art in a city as overwhelming as Hong Kong. Their nihilistic music is at times difficult to pin down, but it is undoubtedly the product of a creative approach that developed while coming of age in Hong Kong at a time of looming uncertainty. David Boring is sure to be another episode that greatly expands the depth and breadth of Shaking Through, because of its unique subject-matter, and the great lengths that both Weathervane and the band are going to tell this unique story.

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The Weathervane Podcast

This unique podcast features insightful conversations with musicians about self-expression, issues that inspire them, and the processes and techniques that they've discovered about making music. The Podcast was last produced in 2015, when it featured conversations with members of The War on Drugs, Hop Along, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Grammy Award winning engineer Jonathan Low, and Weathervane Founding Board Member Kristin Thomson.

In 2019, we're excited to bring back The Weathervane Podcast. Content will be extracted from our initial artist pre-interviews, out-takes from Shaking Through interviews, and occasional meet and greet interviews during Recording Workshops and Studio Concerts.

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Weathervane Recording Workshops



These incredible two-day learning experiences feature local musicians and provide the opportunity for music supporters and creators to learn the processes and techniques that go into making music.

Our goal in 2019 is to take Weathervane Recording Workshops on the road, to travel to regions where Weathervane support is most active, and share what we know about the recording process with new communities.

Weathervane Membership levels provide an array of ways for supporters to engage with Recording Workshops. Event Access Members can attend all Recording Workshops throughout the year, an incredible opportunity to learn hands-on in the studio. Remix Members can download the multitracks from workshop recordings to learn from them, remix and share back with the community on the website.

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Weathervane Studio Concerts

These inspiring events feature Weathervane artists performing for small audiences in the studios that bring their music to life. Concerts in Philadelphia take place at Miner Street Recordings, the intimate studio where we produce Shaking Through, Wrap Parties, Recording Workshops, and music for The Equal Loudness Project.

Our goal in 2019 is to take Weathervane Studio Concerts on the road, paired with Recording Workshops, to regions where Weathervane support is most active.

Weathervane Membership levels provide an array of ways for supporters to engage with Studio Concerts. Event Access Members can attend all Weathervane Studio Concerts, and Remix Members can download the multitracks from these events to remix and share back with the community.

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The Equal Loudness Project

Every year Weathervane Music collaborates with independent musicians from Philadelphia and Miner Street Recordings (the studio where most Weathervane production and events take place) to produce a compilation of music designed to raise money and awareness for causes important to everyone involved. In 2018, Equal Loudness Vol 1 featured 12 artists and raised money to counteract the Philadelphia public school funding crisis.

In 2019, The Equal Loudness Project will give Philadelphia musicians the opportunity to produce music and raise awareness for music education projects that are important to underserved communities in our great city.

Q&A