Head Count

Head Count

HeadCount is a nonpartisan organization that works with musicians to promote participation in democracy in the United States. It is best known for registering voters at concerts – having signed up 175,000 voters since its launch in 2004. It also encourages voter turnout and general civic participation. Some of its higher profile activity includes the release of public service announcements, a compilation album featuring Pearl Jam, Wilco and Phish, and various activities involving board member Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead.

The organization was founded by Marc Brownstein, bass player for the popular electronic rock band The Disco Biscuits, and his friend Andy Bernstein, author of a series of books about Phish. Bernstein now serves as executive director.

Since its inception, HeadCount has been largely volunteer-driven. It fields volunteer “street teams” in most major U.S. cities. Each consists of a trained team leader who runs the local operations, and a cadre of volunteers. These teams then set up tables at concerts through which they register voters and disseminate information related to political issues and upcoming elections. This approach has allowed HeadCount to keep its operating costs low while reaching a very large number of people. In any given year, the organization sets up these tables at 500 to 1,000 concerts or more. Artists who host this activity include: Dave Matthews Band, Pearl Jam, Jack Johnson, Wilco, Phish, MGMT, The National, John Mayer and many others.

Beyond concerts, HeadCount has a large presence on the Internet. It’s blog features daily updates on “music, politics and everything in between,” and it uses Twitter to inform music fans of interesting developments on such topics as human rights, personal liberty, food and farm policy and gulf coast recovery. HeadCount also produced the documentary A Call to Action, which has aired on cable television. In early 2012 HeadCount conceived and produced "The Bridge Session" a live performance from Bob Weir's TRI Studios featuring Weir, members of the National and various other guests. A live webcast on Yahoo! also featured a roundtable political discussion.