Manilow Music Project awards $10,000 grant to Lafayette High School band director ahead of final Lexington concert

Barry Manilow’s charity, the Manilow Music Project, has awarded a $10,000 grant to Lafayette High School’s director of bands, according to LEX18, in recognition of the work of the school’s band program ahead of Manilow’s final Lexington concert at Rupp Arena on Tuesday. The announcement links the grant to Manilow’s appearance in Lexington, framing it as support for music education and student opportunities tied to the school’s band leadership.

LEX18 reported that the Lafayette High School band director is the grant recipient, with the funding coming from the Manilow Music Project. The report did not describe specific spending categories for the award, but it characterized the grant as part of the organization’s efforts to support school music programs and the educators who run them.

The timing places the award immediately before Manilow’s last scheduled Lexington stop at the University of Kentucky’s Rupp Arena, where the concert is expected to draw area residents and additional visitors for the performance. LEX18’s coverage presented the grant as a way of directing charitable funds back to local arts education in the same community hosting the concert.

The Manilow Music Project has previously used celebrity-linked events to connect donations to local beneficiaries, and in Lexington this year the beneficiary named in the LEX18 report is a public school band director at Lafayette High School. The grant amount, $10,000, is intended to provide a direct infusion of support for the school music program at a moment when the director is also preparing for student performances and the logistics that accompany major community events.

The LEX18 report did not provide additional details on the grant application process, the duration of the funding, or whether any matching requirements apply. It also did not state whether Lafayette High School will issue public accounting or reporting on how the funds are used, though schools and districts typically track restricted or designated donations through internal budget controls.

In the immediate term, the practical effect of the award is expected to be seen through the band program’s use of the grant before and after the Tuesday concert, as school directors coordinate rehearsals, performances, and equipment or program needs. For families and students, the grant represents a financial boost connected to a high-profile local event rather than a separate, longer-cycle funding effort.

The next step for the Lexington community is to watch for any follow-up announcements from Lafayette High School or the Manilow Music Project clarifying how the $10,000 will be allocated within the band program, and whether additional community beneficiaries will be named around the Tuesday concert date at Rupp Arena.