Local Barber’s 31-Year Free Haircut Tradition

Shawn Moses is again giving free back-to-school haircuts to K-12 students in Murfreesboro, continuing a tradition he said has now run for 31 years. Moses, owner of A Cut Above the Rest Neighborhood Barbershop, offers the cuts at his Murfreesboro locations as families prepare for the 2026-27 school year. NewsChannel 5 reported the program on August 3, saying Moses has kept the annual giveaway going for more than three decades. Moses told the station the cuts are meant to remove one expense from families’ school-season budgets and help children return to class with confidence. ### Who is running the giveaway, and where is it happening? Shawn Moses runs A Cut Above the Rest Neighborhood Barbershop in Murfreesboro and offers the free cuts through the shop’s local locations. The barbershop website lists four Murfreesboro shops under the A Cut Above the Rest brand: Blackman Barbershop on St. Andrews Drive, Blue Raider Barbershop on Greenland Drive, Stars Barbershop on Memorial Boulevard and University Barbershop on South Rutherford Boulevard. (newschannel5.com) NewsChannel 5 identified Moses as the Murfreesboro barber behind the effort and said the free cuts are available to all K-12 students during back-to-school season. The station said Moses has framed the program as part of his broader effort to give back in the community. (acutabovetheresttn.com) ### How long has Moses been doing this? The number Moses and local coverage emphasize is 31 years. NewsChannel 5 reported on August 3 that he was continuing a 31-year tradition of free back-to-school haircuts, and other recent pickups of the same report described the program as a three-decade effort tied to each school year. (newschannel5.com) Moses told NewsChannel 5 that the work is about more than appearance. “You look good, feel good and act good and you do good,” he said, describing why he believes a haircut can matter to a student heading into the first days of class. ### Why do families say the free cuts matter this year? (newschannel5.com) Sabrina Jones, a parent interviewed by NewsChannel 5, said the savings help as back-to-school costs rise. She told the station that sale prices are harder to find and that budgeting for school needs and haircuts has become more difficult. Her son Daniel received one of the cuts and said he would come back. (newschannel5.com) Moses told the station the effect is especially noticeable for larger families. Families with three or four children can save a meaningful amount when one grooming expense is removed at the same time they are buying clothes, supplies and other school items, he said. (newschannel5.com) ### What does Moses say the program is supposed to do for students? Moses told NewsChannel 5 the goal is to help students start school feeling ready. He said the act of giving — including haircuts and, at times, other help for children — can have a lasting effect on the families he sees in the chair. (newschannel5.com) Daniel, identified by the station as an eighth grader, said the experience made him feel prepared for the year ahead. Moses said those reactions are part of why he continues the event each year. ### When do students head back to class in Murfreesboro? Murfreesboro City Schools lists August 10 as the first full day for students in grades 1-6, after a half day on August 7. (newschannel5.com) Rutherford County Schools lists August 10 as the first full day for students districtwide, following an orientation day on August 7. Those dates put Moses’s haircut giveaway in the final stretch before students return to classrooms across Murfreesboro. NewsChannel 5 reported that Moses offers free haircuts to children multiple times a year, not only before school starts. The station said his next free-cut event is planned around the holidays. (newschannel5.com) (cityschools.net)