Portugal. The Man Throw Schoolkids Surprise Concert With Bonus $48,000 Gear Donation

Portugal. The Man Profile

Between working at a festival food stall for free grub, their ongoing love affair with the cast of It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia, their unashamed love for their dads and their bizarre pseudo-feud with Aussie band Hamjam (y'know, not to mention their tunes), Portugal. The Man are one of the most reliably entertaining and endearing bands around, and now there's yet another reason to love the Alaska-bred prog/chill-rockers: their giant hearts.

As Portland's KGW reports, the band stopped by Ron Russell Middle School this week to surprise students with a special concert, but there was an ulterior motive for the visit: to help deliver $US35,000 (about $48,600) in musical instruments — including trumpets, french horns, violins, cellos, clarinets, saxophones, euphoniums and double basses — for the kids, in a joint effort with the Mr Holland's Opus Foundation as part of a push by eBay-owned marketplace StubHub to donate $US1 million worth of gear to music programs at at-risk public schools.

The band then commenced their mini-concert for the kids, playing three tracks in the school's auditorium/basketball court.

For Portugal. The Man themselves, it's a cause close to their heart, with bassist Zachary Carothers saying, "We started off playing in bands as kids so it's very important for us to be able to come back and do something," according to KGW.

See some footage from the grand unveiling and Portugal's follow-up performance courtesy of KGW reporter Sara Roth's Twitter account below.