The Iron Horse
Join or support The Iron Horse team! Run, walk, relay, or donate what you can to help keep live music thriving in the Valley.
Your fundraising supports The Iron Horse, a nonprofit with a mission to enhance the health and vitality of our community through music. Every contribution helps make music more accessible to our community while ensuring artists and educators are paid fairly for their work.
Your fundraising helps The Iron Horse…
Provide free and reduced-price concert tickets while ensuring performing artists are paid fairly.
Offer scholarships for Musician's Workshops without reducing instructor compensation.
Fund accessibility accommodations, including ASL interpretation, captioning support, assisted listening systems, and future facility improvements.
Provide free or subsidized memberships for students and community members facing financial barriers.
Present free community classes while paying musicians and educators fairly.
Respond to individual accessibility needs as they arise.
At the heart of Miles For Music is a simple belief: access to music and fair pay for artists shouldn't have to compete with one another. Your fundraising helps make both possible.
Thank you for helping keep live music thriving in our community. We can't wait to see you on September 13th!
Miles For Music
This is a unique 8.1-mile point-to-point race along the scenic Norwottuck Rail Trail from Amherst to Northampton, taking place on September 13, 2026. Created by the local iconic venues, The Iron Horse and The Drake, the event welcomes runners and walkers of all abilities and features multiple participation options, including the full 8.1-mile race and a 5 & 5 Relay (5 miles and 5K).
Live music performances along the course and a finish at Taste of Northampton make it part race, part music festival, while raising funds to support and strengthen the region’s vibrant local music community.
Connecting communities through music.
The Iron Horse & The Drake
Miles for Music supports two beloved nonprofit venues: The Drake in Amherst and The Iron Horse in Northampton. While many people know these spaces as places to experience great live music, fewer may realize that both are nonprofit organizations working to keep music, artists, and community gathering spaces strong in the Pioneer Valley.
When music venues thrive, our downtowns thrive. Live music brings people into restaurants, shops, and small businesses, supports local jobs, and creates the kind of energy that makes our communities feel alive.
Miles for Music brings Amherst and Northampton together through a shared love of live music, strengthening the communities, venues, and downtowns that connect us.