Iguana Music Fund

Iguana Music Fund is sponsored by Passim. This fund helps New England-based artists with musical projects.

Iguana Music Fund | grant for New England artists | Passim Ticketing Information + FAQs Application Window Currently Closed 2026 applications will be accepted from September 1st - October 5th. The Iguana Music Fund is an annual grant program predominantly funded by generous anonymous donors, plus the help of Passim, sponsorships, and community donations.

Each year the Iguana Music Fund gives approximately $40,000 in grants to individual artists in amounts from $500 to $2,000 each. Grants are used for projects and expenses to aid in artists' career growth, and range from recording projects to community programs to specialized equipment or instruments.

The Iguana Music Fund was established in 2008 after a generous anonymous donation was given with the intention of helping artists pursue their musical goals. Artists often have the talent and ideas to create incredible music, but they do not always have the financial capacity to do so.

To help musicians overcome financial limitations, the Iguana Music Fund awards annual grants to artists with a residential or tour-based affiliation to New England. Since 2008, over $670,000 in grants has funded more than 400 projects. The 2025 Iguana Music Fund recipients have been announced!

See below for info on all 23 artists and groups that received grants this year. For the past 18 years, the Iguana Fund has financed hundreds of projects to the benefit of our music community including Della Mae, Oompa, and Lake Street Dive. Being a musician in the last few years has led to more uncertainty than ever before.

What remains clear is that art helps us understand ourselves, connects us, and makes life worth living. There is funding available for projects that you might be working on now: recording & streaming equipment, a new instrument that will take your playing to the next level, an online program that teaches important traditions, publicity for your debut EP.

On Monday, April 13th at 7pm, join us for a showcase of the 2025 grant recipients at Club Passim, featuring performances from Helen Kuhar, Qudrat Wasefi, Dom the Composer, Caio e Jess, and Felicity Paige.

Cait Finley and Will Woodson Hanneke Cassel / Pure Dead Brilliant Fiddle Weekend MetaMovements' Conjunto Obaye 2024 Recipients Open Read the Press Release recording solo album of traditional Celtic songs with his singing debut After School Arts Program producing showcase featuring the work of student creators who produced an original score for their first short film providing free community concerts in Arlington Boston Mongolian Artsong Ensemble recording debut album featuring six Mongolian artsongs Center for Peace Through Culture stipends to bring new artists to the Listening Room at CPC a full-length singing string quartet concert featuring original classical punk music about liberation Gender Equity Audio Workshop an educational workshop to break down gender barriers in audio production and recording studio skills recording full-length studio album Hooly J Chan & the Wicked Queer Puppet Theater producing a full-length album that will be brought the world with puppetry touring exhibition that pairs music with paintings new instrument for touring original album celebrating the lives of local queer elders pressing vinyl for her sophomore album The Know Better Do Better Project purchasing video equipment to provide high-quality records for local musicians recording an EP of original songs on ukelele mastering for her Latin-Americana album recording an album ten years in the making mixing and mastering for an EP marketing material for her Son Jachoro band 2023 Recipients Open Read the Press Release recording album with a new indie-pop sound recording first full-length album to highlight the importance of queer POC in music spaces recording sophomore album Circus 617 & Opera On Tap Boston producing “Arias Aloft” with opera singers and circus arts recording rearranged traditional Celtic music Hannah O'Brien & Grant Flick recording sophomore album hiring a producer for a new album first self-recorded project Medford Trad Jazz Festival traditional jazz and blues festival free to the public funding first cross-country tour a live music recording studio for underserved communities recording new album based on the cycle of the seasons recording new album of South American folk rock The Opening Doors Project A series of live performances dedicated to amplifying voices of color and advancing conversations about race writing a book and an album that discusses Hip Hop and values-based leadership building a home recording studio upgrading current drum gear replacing broken instruments new roots revivalist duo recording their first album producing an EP featuring 40 collaborating artists in hip hop, R&B, soul, & neo-soul 2022 Recipients Open Read the Press Release After School Arts Program a film/writing/production workshop for Boston youth A fully-staged choral opera of Emily Dickinson's poetry set to music recording first full-length album a free concert series for Worcester, MA new album blending many Mediterranean musical traditions Carolyn Kendrick and Isa Burke an intimate educational workshop hosted to break down gender barriers in audio production multi-genre-multidimensional collection of EPs that will make up a larger album original album of songs that tell the ancient legend of the Annishinabee prophecies songwriting retreat for women+, with preference for mothers & caregivers new composition for vibraphone blending bluegrass and contemporary influences Video footage of performances that present Venezuelan traditional music in different formats funding scholarships for an annual music and songwriting camp The Opening Doors Project A series of live performances dedicated to amplifying voices of color and advancing conversations about race gear for The Power of The Protest Song presentation purchasing a dance board mic Sub Rosa Songwriting Retreat annual collaborative songwriting retreat album exploring the sounds of the black diaspora and Hip-Hopera debut album as a singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist 2021 Recipients Open Read the Press Release a recital series featuring POC musicians and their cultural influences releasing a song every month for a year purchasing an in-ear monitor system producing a free video series for nursing homes, rehab, memory care and assisted-living facilities throughout Maine album blending Celtic & Nepalese tunes recording an ep with a new band sound produce two videos of Ladino music Jake Blount & the Vox Hunters recording an album of Black maritime music writing songs with young women inmates upgrading home recording equipment The Know Better Do Better Project traveling to Folk Alliance International and building a tour on the way organizing a songwriting retreat for mothers & caregivers who are women & non-binary starting a concert series of early music Medford Community Chorale & Youth Chorus a concert to support Medford’s CITY-WIDE HUNGER FREE initiative funding scholarships for an annual music and songwriting camp hiring more performers for outdoor concert series purchasing portable sound system Sub Rosa Songwriting Retreat annual collaborative songwriting retreat 2020 Recipients Open Read the Press Release producing the BridgeSong Series, a virtual convening for artists of color recording debut full-length album releasing a series of singles leading up a new EP recording debut solo album recording debut solo album producing Finally LIVE: A Social Justice Trap Story, a showcase presenting women and non-binary artists in Boston audio & video recording equipment audio recording & streaming equipment Juventas New Music Ensemble recording a show of chamber music by composers from every continent recording debut solo album hiring guest musicians, dancers, storytellers, and puppeteers to collaborate in online music classes for young children funding scholarships for an annual music and songwriting camp Casey Murray & Molly Tucker recording debut full-length album recording debut full-length studio album recording a concept hip-hop album recording sophomore album audio recording equipment recording a series of videos honoring the Jewish violin producing a bilingual video series teaching children about music, dancing, food, and Spanish recording album of original tunes upgrading home recording and streaming equipment recording debut solo album 2019 Recipients Open Read the Press Release applying for a work visa to stay and work as an artist in the US recording sophomore album Boston States Fiddle Camp a new week-long Scottish & Cape Breton fiddle camp recording an album of his father's songs The Makam Healing Project: performances of Turkish modal music in hospitals recording an album of duets from many folk traditions arranged for clawhammer banjo professional upright bass recording sophomore album marketing Tam Lin: A Folk-Rock Opera annual music and songwriting camp giving away an album about activism to underserved schools recording sophomore album The Sub Rosa Songwriting Retreat annual collaborative songwriting retreat 2018 Recipients Open Read the Press Release recording album inspired by traditional Hebrew texts recording first full-length album multimedia performance highlighting women religious figures writing songs with women inmates Hear Us!

concert and lecture series feat.

women composers recording live album on the anniversary of the Great Molasses Flood travel expenses for album release tour recording ep with a new stripped-back sound book of practical advice in the music business mixing and mastering Songs & Strings live show recording first full-length album annual music and songwriting camp recording album exploring race, identities, and mental health purchasing an upright bass recording first full-length album adapting the songwriting process to include students with physical & cognitive disabilities recording first full-length album The Sub Rosa Songwriting Retreat annual collaborative songwriting retreat musicians in mental health recovery bring open mics to mental health centers recording album of music transcribed from traditional Ottoman manuscripts local musicians raise money to end homelessness Elizabeth and Ben Anderson Allison de Groot & Tatiana Hargreaves Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance of Boston (DBSA-BOSTON) Ezekiel's Wheels Klezmer Band Freelance Players, Inc. (Urban Improv) Gretchen and the Pickpockets The New England Songwriters Retreat The Sub Rosa Songwriting Retreat The Wolff Sisters & The Last Cavalry Boston Scottish Fiddle Club Putnam Smith & Ashley Storrow Flynn Cohen & the Deadstring Ensemble Gretchen and the Pickpockets Laney Jones and the Spirits The Stash Wyslouch Stringband Carrie Ferguson and Piti Theatre Co.

Dare To Be Square: A Camberville BAR-n Dance Ellie Buckland and Isa Burke Massachusetts Walking Tour Peter Winne (Community Square Dance in Portland, ME) Realta Gaela (Trad Youth Exchange) Red Line Roots ('Locals Covering Locals, Vol 2') Brian Carroll (Red Line Roots) Taylor Armerding (Barnstar!)

Ezekiel's Wheels Klezmer Band Nataie Sara Weaver (The SONG Project) Connor Garvey (Octagon Songwriting Retreat) Meena Malik (Voci Angelica Trio) Christa Joy (Pioneer Valley Woman Songwriter Collective) Philip B.

Price (Winterpills) Gregory Liszt (The Deadly Gentlemen) Sub Rosa Songwriting Retreat Natalie Sara Weaver (The SONG Project) Kristin Andreassen (Miles of Music Camp) Peter Bitenc (The Sweetback Sisters) Sarah Parkington (Parkington Sisters) Kristen Andreassen (Miles of Music Camp) Andy Cambria & Sarah Green Sub Rosa Songwriting Retreat Sub Rosa Songwriting Retreat Support the Iguana Music Fund To contribute to the Iguana Music Fund, you may make your donation by phone (617.

492. 5300) or by check (to Passim, with memo Iguana Music Fund,) or donate online! Donate to the Iguana Music Fund Questions about applying?

Email your questions to the Fund at grants@passim. org. Contact Support the Iguana Music Fund To contribute to the Iguana Music Fund, you may make your donation by phone (617.

492. 5300) or by check (to Passim, with memo Iguana Music Fund,) or donate online! Donate to the Iguana Music Fund Questions about applying?

Email your questions to the Fund at grants@passim. org. Contact @griffinwadehouse returns to Club Passim on 7-25-2 On this day, 12 years ago, @scottishfishband playe Sometimes our office doubles as a place for really Caroline Spence is coming to Passim next Tuesday, The Passim Board is matching donations to Passim t Passim has three grant programs that provide direc Passim's School of Music provides a rich environme