This week, Jared Bowen gives us an inside look at the American Heritage Museum and profiles three recipients of the 2020 Iguana Music Fund.
The American Heritage Museum, located at the Collings Foundation’s headquarters in Stow, Massachusetts
Opened in 2019, the American Heritage Museum provides a history of American war involvement through the tanks, planes, and other armaments from World War I to the present day. Featuring a staggering array of military vehicles all fully restored and drivable, the museum’s 65,000+ square foot building houses a rare collection of tanks including 15 that are the only ones of their kind on display in North America.
“The first time I drove one of these, I had the feeling of being invincible,” said President of the American Heritage Museum Rob Collings. “But in reality, these were far from invincible. The crews were very vulnerable in tank. [Inside a tank] was probably the most dangerous place to be on a battlefield.”
provides grants to artists in the New England area
Each year Club Passim’s Iguana Music Fund awards grants of $500 to $2000 to New England-area musicians. With venues closed and concerts canceled over the last year due to the coronavirus, performing artists are more vulnerable than ever. Fortunately, grants like the Iguana Music Fund have allowed musicians to continue to finance and create their art.
For the Boston-based folk-rock band Billy Wylder, that translates to the release of a series of singles and their new EP “Whatcha Looking For,” available April 9.
It also allows groups like Juventas New Music Ensemble to pay their classically trained musicians and record free, virtual concerts of works by living composers from around the globe.
The Iguana Music Fund has allowed local artists like DJ WhySham to expand and broaden their networks, providing new avenues for musicians to find work during and after the pandemic.
“Within Iguana… I've become closer to other venues who've seen my name because it's posted,” said DJ WhySham in an interview with Jared. “This is how we're funding our career. This is how we keep going on.”
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