Detroit Pop Duo JR JR Launch Fundraising Campaign in Response to Flint Water Crisis

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The effort kicked off last week on Cadence & Cause, an online music community rooted in social responsibility

The effort kicked off last week on Cadence & Cause, an online music community rooted in social responsibility

Cadence & Cause, an online music community rooted in social responsibility, is responding to the contaminated drinking water crisis in Flint, Mich., with a fundraising campaign driven by artists and their fans. The effort kicked off last week with an online sweepstakes for exclusive merchandise from Detroit pop duo JR JR (www.cadenceandcause.com/artist/jr-jr). The entry period ends at 5:00PM MST on February 26th.

JR JR is offering several pieces of memorabilia, including:

* A saxophone used on its first two records and on tour

* Tour-worn NASCAR jackets

* Clothing sported in a classic photo shoot, which the band describes as “the sweater from our creepiest photo ever”

* A painted blazer from the music video “If You Didn't See Me (Then You Weren’t On The Dancefloor)”

* The band’s first stage props: JR stage lights, which completed four tours

Cadence & Cause is a music community that lets artists change the world one tune at a time—with a little help from their fans. Artists create revenue for charities by donating tunes, merchandise and personal experiences. Fans connect by patronizing these pages, which feature bios, news, photos and music along with information about the beneficiaries of their socially responsible donations.

Because of aging water pipes and the state’s inability to govern, between 6,000 and 12,000 Flint children were exposed to drinking water containing high levels of lead after it leached into their water supply. They may experience a range of serious health problems due to the exposure. President Obama declared the Flint water crisis a federal state of emergency.

So, far, fans have raised money to help 527 Flint families. JR JR donations support the Flint Child Health & Development Fund, which was designed to ensure long-term change for the better in response to the water crisis. Services include crisis response, optimal child health and development, early childhood education and student support services.

Clean water is a key cause for Cadence & Cause. In 2015, funds raised by the music community purchased filters that produced 8.8 million gallons of clean water.

“We all trust, deep down, that when we turn on the faucet, somebody has taken steps to make sure it's safe for us to drink,” the band said in a statement on their page. “The water crisis in Flint has brought out a deep fear in us, as the government in our own state has failed to protect its citizens.”

JR JR originally made headlines under the moniker Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. The band is signed to Warner Bros.

About JR JR

Detroit duo JR JR (Josh Epstein and Daniel Zott) are on tour behind their third self-titled album, JR JR, which Inc.com and PopMatters deemed their 'Best Albums of 2015,' ending the year with sold-out shows with Nathaniel Rateliff and Of Monsters and Men. Paste declared their single 'Gone' the ‘Best of 2015,’ and the track was featured on NPR‘s Heavy Rotation: '10 Songs Public Radio Can't Stop Playing,' as well as in I Am Cait, Please Like Me, Togetherness, Grandfathered, and more. Watch JR JR perform 'Gone' on CONAN and on KCRW Morning Becomes Eclectic.

Under their original moniker Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr., the group built a rather rich history, eventually setting the stage for JR JR. Their indefinable and inimitable charm continually proves magnetic, from getting signed by a Warner Bros. A&R exec who jumped on stage at CMJ, to snagging their own ice cream flavor back in Michigan, ‘JR JR Mint,’ and even being invited to practice by the Milwaukee Bucks. Along the way, they've sold out countless shows, given TV performances on the likes of Conan, and cultivated a rabid fan base. 2014 saw them step outside the box, even creating music for the hip-hop mixtape, Produce, which featured the likes of Murs, Asher Roth, Chuck Inglish, and more. It creatively galvanized them and sparked the process behind their third offering, JR JR, recorded in Detroit and Los Angeles over a period of six months between tour.

About Cadence & Cause

Music is instant — you hear a song and you’re immediately moved. What if you could apply the same immediacy to a cause — to turn a problem to a solution, right this second? Cadence & Cause is a digital platform that connects musicians, fans and worthy causes together to measurably change the world — not at some point in the future, but right now.