Seeing a 14-year-old kid ripping a Van Halen solo may not be all that common, but it will just be one part of the show when each of three School of Rock house bands storm the Mempho Presents Stage during the second annual RiverBeat Music Festival, this Friday, May 2nd, from 4-6 p.m. Sharing billing with headliners like Missy Elliot and The Killers, the house band will be the opening act for the festival.
House band director at School of Rock Wolfchase, Michael Ragsdale, said the school expects a lively turnout, even greater than their performance at last year’s festival, which ultimately drew about 30,000 people in all.
The house bands will be performing a broad mix of music, including rock, R&B, soul, funk, blues, and metal. Ragsdale said this diverse set list will be something that” “everyone can dig.”
“[RiverBeat] has so many different genres up there that everybody is there to experience one thing, and it’s the music,” he said.
For Ragsdale, who recently became house band director, and for new members of the group, the anticipation for this event is especially electric, it being the band’s first time performing for a crowd of this size.
“I’m really excited to get to watch them onstage and be a part of it with them,” Ragsdale said. “Other than getting to have them make memories of being there, it also is important for me to watch them grow as musicians.”
Hannah Casey, studio coordinator at School of Rock Wolfchase, has witnessed the kids’ musical and personal growth over the last several years and says they are all “fascinating to watch.”
Casey said she is looking forward to seeing the newest and youngest group members, vocalists Avery and Isis, and guitarist Rowan, perform on opening night. “It’s always so exciting to watch them do new things and figure out all this new stuff and find all this new confidence,” she said.
The newest guitarist, 14-year-old Rowan, shared that she enjoys these gigs because they’re “very energetic” experiences and confidence builders. “I’m excited because Missy Elliot will be there, and I think that’s crazy because normally it’s just us playing and not headliners,” she said.
As one of the eight kids, all between the ages of 13 and 17, Rowan and her trusty Epiphone Les Paul, “Walter,” will share the stage with her bandmates, whose distinct personalities and talents combine into what is the Wolfchase band’s unified look.
“What they do is something that takes a lot of effort and makes them have to work with each other to have that onstage chemistry and connection,” Ragsdale said. If their rehearsals are any indication of what’s to come, festivalgoers should prepare for a powerhouse performance from the bands.
For ticketing information, visit https://riverbeat.frontgatetickets.com