We love talking about our friends at The John Lennon Educational Tour Bus who are traveling the globe to provide students with free studio time. The Lennon Bus is committed to providing these students and their schools with personalized, customized studio sessions where they get a crash course in writing, recording and producing music. The portable studio is equipped with all the best accoutrements, including Audio-Technica pro mics & headphones.

[hana-code-insert name='ig_41' /] During this year’s National Association of Music Merchants Show (NAMM) in Anaheim, CA, we were proud to partner with them to showcase their abilities and unveil our new studio monitor headphones, the ATH-M50x, to the masses. Visitors were encouraged to participate in our #M50xperience giveaway by posing with a larger-than-life version of the headphones outside the bus, then posting the picture on Twitter or Instagram for a chance to win a pair.

The Lennon Bus will have our large M50x headphones traveling with them all year, and we’re going to extend the contest by continuing to give away free pairs of the ATH-M50X headphones to lucky winners who post their photo of the larger than life monitors. To participate in the giveaway, the rules are the same as before – simply take a picture with the headphones outside of the Lennon Bus and post it to Twitter or Instagram using the hashtag #M50xperience. Next stop on the #M50xperience Lennon Bus tour is The NAB Show in Las Vegas (April 5 – 10). Check out the full Lennon Bus schedule at lennonbus.org/schedule

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We received a lot of awesome giant headphone images to kick start the #M50xperience social media giveaway, and wanted to share a few of our favorites to provide inspiration:

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Lennon Bus and A-T at NAMM 2014

The Lennon Bus Imagine Party showcased many talented musicians using only A-T pro microphones. Art Alexakis of Everclear performed, heralding the announcement of his new position as Songwriting Program Chair of the new Los Angeles College of Music. In celebration of his appointment, Mr. Alexakis recorded a song with five of the college’s students on Audio-Technica microphones. Check it out:

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Grammy®-nominated multi-instrumentalist Sheila E. also performed at the Imagine Party. She’s known for her work with Prince, Ringo Starr, Beyoncé and other music industry heavy-hitters. It was a very energetic show, with Sheila E. jumping from one set of percussion to another, all while singing lead vocals into Audio-Technica microphones. Check out a shot from her set below:

We had a blast at NAMM and wish the Lennon Bus all the best as they hit the road to continue their tour with our giant headphones onboard. We’re excited to play a part in helping youth all over the country realize their musical dreams…the work of The Lennon Bus is truly inspirational. Check out the Lennon Bus YouTube page to see some examples of what they’re up to – it’s great stuff! And stay tuned for more updates on The Lennon Bus as it makes its rounds – if they stop in your town, be sure to take a picture and post it for a chance to win some ATH-M50x studio monitor headphones!