A friend was visiting Davis, and we decided to head over to Sudwerk for a late lunch and catch some music while we were there. The RockBand University Halloween Concert was celebrating its 16th year on the brewery’s outdoor stage, with ten student bands scheduled to perform throughout the afternoon.
It was a beautiful day to be outside, and I was impressed by the crowd that had turned out to support the young musicians.
RockBand University has been helping young people play together since 2009. The Davis music school brings together students ages 10 to 18, matching them by experience and working with them through rehearsals before putting them onstage.
I had a chance to talk with Mike Clements, the school’s owner, director and head instructor, and asked him about the bands performing that afternoon. He explained that many of the groups don’t even have names yet, although Cockroach Genocide was among those that did. He was also happy to point out that Sudwerk has been hosting RockBand University concerts since 2009.
That’s a pretty good run, and it’s encouraging to see a local business continue supporting young musicians for so many years.
We stayed to hear some of the performances and enjoy the afternoon. Many of the students were dressed in Halloween costumes, which can’t make playing an instrument any easier. Add in the afternoon sun beating down on the stage, and it was a pretty warm experience for the musicians. They didn’t seem to let it get in the way of performing, though.
There was a good crowd, plenty of support for the students, and a chance to see young musicians getting valuable experience playing in front of an audience.
And who knows? Somewhere among those ten bands might be a few of the people we’ll be going to see perform years from now.
