Join or support The Drake team! Run, walk, relay, or donate what you can to help keep live music thriving in the Valley.

Your fundraising supports The Drake, the heartbeat of downtown Amherst and a space where creativity and community thrive. 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 Drake…

• Provide free open mic nights for the community

• Support artists directly by ensuring fair pay and letting artists keep 100% of their merchandise sales

• Fund facility improvements including equipment and production upgrades, lighting upgrades, etc. 

• Offer discounted tickets to students and other community members who might not otherwise be able to experience live music

• Host benefit events for local community organizations, including the Amherst Survival Center

• Host fundraisers for local schools, including Amherst Regional Public Schools and Amherst Regional High School

• Host monthly sessions of the Northampton Jazz Workshop, including a free jazz jam

• Support student organization events, such as WMUA’s Battle of the Bands and annual Spring Concert

• Offer diverse programming including comedy nights, drag shows, film screenings, and poetry readings

• Collaborate with Five College music departments, including the UMass Fine Arts Center and Amherst College’s jazz faculty

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!

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.
 

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.