By Alicia Couch Payne
The walls created by old Bona Allen were witness to a “British Invasion” on Sunday night, January 27, 2019. Music students from the School of Rock in Buford, Georgia took to the stage at the Tannery Row Alehouse to show off their acquired skills. Students of all ages and skill levels got to perform at the concert put on by the School of Rock to showcase their talented students. The students performed to a packed house of approximately 400 guests.
The School of Rock is a music school where students of all ages and skill sets can become musicians. Their teaching philosophy is “music is a language and that music is learned best when working together with other musicians.” This means that most of their programs have a one-on-one private lesson and a group lesson where students learn to play with their peers in a rock band type setting. The School of Rock’s curriculum is designed to “take a student from zero to on stage in four months or less.”
The Rock 101 program is one of the top programs for kids and beginners. They learn rock songs simplified for the inexperienced. Students learn in both a group environment and in private lessons. Rock 101 took the stage first on Sunday performing such songs as “Seven Nation Army” by the White Stripes, “We Will Rock You” by Queen, and “Werewolves of London” by Warren Zevon. The young students conquered their nerves and put on a wonderful performance for the crowd.
The headlining performers were up next to put on their “British Invasion” show. The students from the School of Rock’s Performance Program performed 15 songs that included “House of the Rising Sun” by the Animals, “A Hard Day’s Night” by the Beatles, and “Lucy Leave” by Pink Floyd. The Performance Program is the School of Rock at Buford’s “hallmark music program.” The program “consists of a weekly group rehearsal where kids and teens learn by playing rock music’s most iconic songs with a band composed of their peers. Students are assigned songs and parts that are tailored to them based on their age, experience, and ability to learn new skills and concepts.”
Wrapping up the evening’s performances were students from the Adult Program. This program is for adults who wish to improve their musical proficiency or to learn an instrument for the first time. This program utilizes both private and group sessions. “Bad Moon Rising” by Creedence Clearwater Revival and “Paranoid” by Black Sabbath were two of the five songs they performed.
The School of Rock not only offers the programs mentioned above but they can also help parents break up the monotony of summer with a selection of summer camps. There are six one-week camps available. For a complete list of summer camps or to get more information on their other offerings, please visit www.buford.schoolofrock.com or call (770) 450-4321.
Congratulations to all the student performers! Rock 101: Allana Pithoud – Vocals, Audrey Brown – Guitar / Vocals, Charley Martin – Vocals, Jacob Ramos – Guitar / Bass, Jazmin Anderson – Keys, Tristan Kennedy – Guitar, Christopher McDonald – Drums, Paul Barnes Jr. – Drums, Danielle Decker – Keys, Marleigh LeDoux – Guitar / Vocals, Tanner Miller – Vocals, Ian Teffault – Vocals, Rylan Burke – Guitar, and Samantha Valdez – Guitar Performance Group: Dylan Vaughn – Vocals, Emery Hagye – Guitar, Grady Harstad – Guitar, John Bergmann – Guitar, Mathew Vaughn – Guitar, Stephanie Tello – Vocals, Thomas O’Shea – Bass, Will Evans – Guitar, Will Yonts – Guitar, Dylan Miller – Drums, and Jack Weaver – Vocals Adult Program: Paul Barnes – Guitar, Paul Burns – Bass / Vocals, Brian LeDoux – Bass, Daniel Martinez – Drums, Sean Logan – Guitar, and Will Johnson – Guitar / Vocals
