Tedeschi Trucks Band has shared the details for the Second Annual Kofi Burbridge Day of Service, a one-day, multi-city opportunity for fans to honor the legacy of keyboardist and flute player Kofi Burbridge. “Kofi was an inspirational artist and generously shared his musical gifts with countless fans, so we hope you’ll join us to make a difference and uplift others,” the band wrote. “Volunteer events are taking place on what would have been Kofi’s 61st birthday, September 22, 2022, at nonprofits in numerous cities.”
Created in honor of Kofi Burbridge after he passed away in 2019 due to complications from a cardiac condition, the Annual Kofi Burbridge Day of Service began in 2021, when fans, relatives, and members of Tedeschi Trucks Band all volunteered together at nonprofits in six different cities—Boston, NYC, Washington D.C., Charlotte, Atlanta, and Jacksonville. In the event’s first year, volunteers donated over 160 hours of time preparing meals, sorting produce, and packing hundreds of boxes of meals.
This year, the Kofi Burbridge Day of Service will include opportunities to volunteer at We End Community Garden in Atlanta, GA; FeedmoreWNY in Buffalo, NY; Feeding Northwest Florida in Jacksonville, FL; Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation in Los Angeles, CA; God’s Love We Deliver in New York City; Manna in Philadelphia, PA; and St. Louis Food Bank in St. Louis, MO. Advance registration is required, and space is limited. Sign up to volunteer here.
Tedeschi Trucks Band encouraged those who can’t make it or have no events near them to celebrate by doing something in their community.
Kofi Burbridge joined Derek Trucks Band in 1999 after a stint with Col. Bruce Hampton‘s Aquarium Rescue Unit. Trucks and Burbridge shared a musical partnership that lasted two decades, ultimately traveling and playing together with Tedeschi Trucks Band until Burbridge passed away. “He just made everything better and everything cool,” Trucks said in a recent documentary about Burbridge’s life. “It didn’t matter what it was. It just instantly had a purpose. … Everyone loved him. He was a people person, and he really connected with a lot of people. And that’s the thing, man. He got a lot of great work done while he was here. He left a real legacy.” Trucks continued, “You don’t meet many geniuses in your life, and you really don’t get a chance to share a huge chunk of your life with them, so I keep coming back to that. It was a hell of a gift.”
Kofi’s brother Oteil Burbridge, bassist for Allman Brothers Band and now Dead & Company, said of his brother, “Kofi had such an open mind. Such an incredible imagination. … and he was always my teacher. He was always so far ahead of me ’cause they figured out he had perfect pitch when he was seven years old. … Kofi was so far ahead of everyone else that I found it difficult to play with other people—and I thought Kofi was normal.”