At just 12 years old, Lincoln Pope is studying and performing some of the most difficult rock songs of all time — the young guitarist and vocalist is part of School of Rock Buford’s House Band, a group of music students ranging in age from 10 to just shy of 15 who represent the school by performing gigs at various area venues.
In addition to Pope, who plays guitar and sings vocals, the House Band consists of eight other members — Laurel, Liam, Heidi, Caelan, Declan, Matias, Addy and Erin.
The House Band is led by instructor Ricky Zero, who has been part of School of Rock Buford since it opened in September 2018. Zero teaches guitar, bass and drum lessons. Prior to becoming a music instructor, he performed in several bands, played on more than 50 albums and, from 2000 to 2018, toured full time.
Zero reiterated that members of the House Band are playing some of the hardest songs that exist in the genre of rock music.
“The instructors have trouble with these songs, they’re so difficult,” he said.
Pope, who calls Buford home, will start his fifth year with School of Rock Buford in August. He is a multi-instrument student, playing guitar, bass, drums and percussion, piano, keyboard and mandolin. He started playing his first instrument, the guitar, six years ago and followed that up with drums and bass, then piano and mandolin, and he started playing the contrabass, a bowed, stringed instrument that’s part of the violin family, about six months ago.
“The best part, for me, about being in the House Band is when the time comes to start playing the new songs,” Pope said. “Figuring out the structure and what parts go where always intrigues and excites me.”
During the House Band’s last practice of the season on March 10 leading up to the School of Rock’s end-of-the-season show on June 8, the group started learning Tears for Fears’ “Everybody Wants to Rule the World.”
“We spent 80% of practice just trying to organize every single part the best we could,” Pope said, “and it was hard work, but fun, nonetheless.”
One of the House Band’s most recent performances was Feb. 23 at Over the Top Burger in Buford, and the song list consisted of 10 songs, with each band member performing at least five of those songs. The set list included “Highway to Hell” by AC/DC, “Crazy Train” by Ozzy Osbourne, “Enter Sandman” by Metallica and “Just What I Needed” by the Cars, among other rock numbers.
“I feel like that is the tightest we have been as a live band in a long time,” Pope said of the Feb. 23 show. “We made mistakes, sure, but we always bounced back from them quickly, which is shocking, considering that coming back from mistakes easily is one of the harder things a live musician can do. It was fun, and it’s one of my favorite places to play live.”
The House Band is an audition-only group. At the end of each season, students perform an end-of-season showcase, and the Monday after that Sunday performance, auditions are held for the next season’s House Band. The auditions are judged by individuals in the local music industry who are not part of School of Rock Buford.
“They really do work hard to learn the additional material,” Zero said of the members of the House Band. “For those kids, I often let them play songs a little bit harder than they’re currently able to play to let them learn and get better. By giving the kids in House Band who have the motivation and who are really working on slightly harder songs than they are currently capable of doing, it really gives them confidence and they’re really excited to play. We see a lot of potential in them.”
Zero said many of the students who attend School of Rock Buford discover they’ve found a place to shine.
“I was surprised at how important it really is for a lot of these kids to just find their place, to find a community they feel comfortable in,” he said. “That really is the thing that surprised me the most as a teacher, is just how much the community really has meant to a lot of these kids.
“It really is a huge boost to their self-confidence,” Zero added. “I see every season when a new kid gets into the House Band how much it motivates them to work harder and feel like they’re good enough for something. For some of these kids, I hate to overstate, I really feel like for some of these kids, that’s life-changing.”
“I’ve been able to break out of my shell creatively and grew my skill as a musician with the more challenging song choices and more productive playing,” added Pope, who has aspirations of becoming a professional musician. He also performs in a band outside of the School of Rock called Hotels in Peru with fellow House Band member Liam.
This season’s House Band musicians will take the stage during School of Rock Buford’s end-of-season show coming up on June 8. Students will perform from 3 to 9 p.m. at Tannery Row Ale House in Buford.
For more information on School of Rock Buford, visit schoolofrock.com/locations/buford.
FEATURED PHOTO: Young musicians in School of Rock Buford’s House Band perform Feb. 23, 2025, at Over the Top Burger Bar in Buford. The House Band consists of nine members playing various instruments and singing vocals. Photo courtesy for School of Rock Buford.
