In 1997, Co-Founder/Executive Director Brian Rothschild contacted Yoko Ono about “creating a John Lennon Songwriting Contest to give songwriters around the world access to the music industry,” said Rothschild. “It’s now in its 27th year and offers $390,000 in cash awards and prizes across 12 music categories. As we were looking at ways to promote the contest, the idea of creating a mobile music studio was hatched, and we launched the first version of the Lennon Bus in 1998.”
Since 1998, the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus has brought the nonprofit mobile studio featuring the latest music, audio, and video products and solutions, to many hundreds of thousands of students across the country. Programs provide hands-on production sessions and workforce development opportunities made possible by some of the biggest names in music and technology including Apple, Dolby Creator Lab, Battle Born Batteries, Genelec, Audio-Technica and Avid, among many others.
While at the recent 2025 NAMM Show, the Lennon Bus hosted visitors for tours of the Dolby Atmos 7.1.4 studio and there were giveaways from sponsors Taylor Guitars, Avid, Genelec, Artiphon, Full Compass, Apogee, SSL, AudioTechnica and more. The Lennon Bus stage once again presented panels and demos with legendary and emerging artists, producers and engineers. As a special treat for attendees, GRAMMY-winning artist Jacob Collier produced the collaborative project inspired by John and Yoko’s iconic song ‘Imagine’ with special guests.
New for 2025, Full Compass Systems becomes the official online retailer of the Lennon Bus and kicks off the Lennon Bus Store offering the Lennon Bus T-shirts featuring the iconic Lennon self-portrait. “As a company that has always been deeply committed to supporting musicians, music educators, and music technology enthusiasts, this partnership is a natural extension of our mission,” says Dave Chaimson, President, Full Compass Systems.
Last year’s highlights included “Imagine: A Musical Collaboration with Jeremy Renner,” an exciting project with TV/film star and musician Jeremy Renner in his hometown of Reno, NV and the RennerVation Foundation, his non-profit to benefit foster kids and at-risk youth. The documentary was produced by Battle Born Batteries, a division of Dragonfly Energy, who installed their latest GC3 smart non-toxic lithium iron phosphate batteries to power the mobile recording studio, enabling it to be green, more efficient, and reduce the carbon footprint.
The Apple-supported Lennon Bus Fall residency in Louisiana included Historically Black Colleges and Universities and production sessions with high school students from the Lower Ninth Ward in New Orleans, in association with the Ellis Marsalis Center for Music. On the road to Super Bowl LIX, outreach efforts continue in 2025 with a visit to Xavier University, and on to campus stops in Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina and Indiana with additional support from the Mrs. G’s Foundation, NAMM Foundation, AXS TV and Charter Communications.
Looking ahead, Dolby goes deeper with their commitment to the next generation of creators. Dolby plans to expand support to Lennon Bus Europe by upgrading that mobile studio with a 7.1.4 mix room brought to life with one-of-a-kind Genelec speakers customized with words, images, and musical motifs honoring John Lennon’s work.
On the video side, Lennon Bus content is shot on the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro, allowing students the opportunity to produce video individually, in groups, or capture multiple angles of scenes. The idea of the nonprofit Lennon Educational Tour Bus is to provide experience to students in both music production and video. “Our workshop participants get handson with today’s best technology to experience what it’s like to produce original digital content using the same tools and techniques they’ll find in the professional world,” said Chief Technology Officer Jeff Sobel. “They also learn about affordable tools that they can begin producing with right away.”
“We worked with Westlake Pro to integrate an ATEM Television Studio HD8 ISO switcher as well as to install camera I/O panels in each room of the studio,” added Sobel. “These panels, with their adjacent Triad Orbit quick mount points, are the perfect place to connect the three Blackmagic Studio Camera 6K Pros, which work seamlessly with the ATEM. These studio cameras allow for easy broadcast-style production, live streaming, or just to capture more angles in the studio.”
“DaVinci Resolve Studio also provides an intuitive and powerful workflow for post-production. Video captured with the Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro in Blackmagic RAW provides maximum fidelity, and DaVinci Resolve Studio is the best way to output projects with support for Dolby Vision,” continued Sobel.
The goal of the Lennon Bus is simple. “The Bus and its programs are designed to inspire the next generation to imagine a better world,” said Sobel.
Rothschild added, “Lennon Bus student sessions bring young people together to create a project in one single day. They might write and record a song, then shoot a video, or come together to produce a documentary focused on an issue of importance to them. Culminating events showcase student projects and bring students, celebrated artists, and community leaders together for roundtable conversations of special interest to today’s youth. Of course, John Lennon’s name adds a special focus on social justice and peace.”
The Lennon Bus is made possible by Yoko Ono Lennon and the following sponsors and contributors: Apple, Inc., Dolby Creator Lab, Battle Born Batteries, NAMM Foundation, Westlake Pro, Taylor Guitars, Audio-Technica, Genelec, Apogee, Roland, Gibson Gives, Triad-Orbit, Reason Studios, Solid State Logic, Neutrik, Blackmagic Design, Grace Design, Avid, PSP Audioware, Universal Audio, and Flock Audio.
