The Junkman completed a successful five-day Junk Station residency where all students participated in the construction of the Junk Stations and learning elements of the Junkman’s HOP (Help Our Planet) Education initiative. The five days culminated in a school wide concert and Junk Jam wherein students played on the instruments they created during the week.

From the February Issue of Vermont’s Stratton Magazine, a terrific article about the Junkman:
Stratton Junkman February 2026

Introducing all new Junk Music shows for schools, children, and families as well as new shows for venues, festivals, and fairs.

The multi-media concerts include the spooky sounds of ‘Dracula’s Dance’, a symphony on a used drum head, an exploration of sound colors, a duet with a junk robot, and vocal percussion… whew! As always, all shows feature The Junkman’s award-winning Help Our Planet (HOP) education initiative and teach environmental stewardship and social responsibility as presented by a virtuoso percussionist and world-class musician and environmentalist.

Vermont Arts Exchange (VAE), presented Junk Music with The Junkman, Sunday, April 27 2 to 4 p.m. at the Bennington Museum’s Paresky Court. The concert celebrated the closing of VAE’s 30 year anniversary exhibition titled “From the Studio to the Streets, 30 Years of Community Engagement through the Arts”.
During the show, The Junkman presented an overview of his music throughout the years, discussed his relationship with VAE and especially their new projects for the immediate future.
He concluded the concert by leading the audience in a communal Junkjam!

THE JUNKMAN COMES TO CLIFTON PARK, NY – 14 AUGUST, 2024 Halfmoon, NY—— The Junkman is the original recycled materials percussionist. The Junkman transcends all traditional musical genres as proven by performances with Eminem, The Black Eyed Peas, & Phish, rave reviews for his work with choreographer Twyla Tharp, commissions and performances at The Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, Grinigog, B’Love, Llangollen Musical Eisteddfod, The Great Went, United Nation’s Conference on Climate Change, Lemonwheel, Sundance Film Festival. And his music has appeared on worldwide television commercials for Nike, The NBA, ESPN, Electronic Arts, Airbnb, and PowerDot amongst others. You can catch the infectious grooves of Junk Music with The Junkman at the summer stage in the Town of Clifton Park, NY on Wednesday, August 14, 2024 for a Family Concert beginning at 7pm. The Junkman has always dedicated a segment of his work to Children and Families. “I firmly believe that the future of the world, be it the health of our physical environment or how we show respect in our personal environments, will be molded and shepherded by today’s children and youth”, says The Junkman. Knaack’s HOP (Help Our Planet Environmental Educational Initiative has won several awards of excellence and has been taught in schools throughout the US, Canada, and abroad (including the UK, Europe, China, Korea, and Dubai). Many of the Enviro-Chants from his HOP program will be the focus of the audience-wide Junkjam that punctuates all his live performances. Press and media interviews are welcomed. Please contact Amy Meade <amy@junkmusic.online> for further information or to make interview appointments.

In advance of the release of the Halloween-themed dance track “Abracadabra Again” on Friday, September 1, here is the official video.

UK composer Elizabeth (Lizzy) Westcott has hired The Junkman to be the Technical Music Consultant for her new family music theatre production for the Bristol Old Vic in Bristol, United Kingdom. The musical work is adapted from Izzy Gizmo book series by author Pip Jones. The stage sets will be a massive Rube Goldberg style sound-set of gizmos – all made from reused materials. I will be assisting Lizzy in the selection of reused materials for each of the various songs in the musical. The idea is to integrate specific reused material sounds into this large sound set. This will enable Izzy the ability to accompany herself on the sound set of gizmos as she sings songs live throughout the show. More on this super fun project later!!

STORYJAMS

A NEW AND EXCITING INTERACTIVE CLASSROOM EXPERIENCE!

The Junkman (Donald Knaack) has collaborated with the critically acclaimed author of thirteen traditionally published mystery novels, Amy Patricia Meade, to bring a unique storytelling/music program to students of all ages. Called Storyjams, the classroom workshop inspires children to create their own stories while simultaneously teaching them about story structure, sound color, and how rhythm and music can enhance a written narrative or tell a story all its own. Amy’s section of the program meets the majority of NYS Anchor Standards for Writing. Donald Knaack’s portion meets the majority of NYS Music Anchor Standards. Workshops are interactive with each student creating a story to either read aloud or share on the classroom story tree. A jam session & a question and answer session will follow each workshop.

Duration of each classroom presentation is 30 to 45 minutes dependent upon student age and scheduling constraints.

One full day (6-8 classes) of workshops: $1,000.00

The most comprehensive and analytical work that ever been produced on The Junkman’s life and work:

https://medium.com/noods-radio/donald-knaack-producing-the-environment-83b5a1eef765