A professional folk rock band brought songwriting, life as touring musicians, and the recording and production process to life at Ernest Righetti High School on Nov. 17.
Jared & the Mill, a band from Phoenix, stopped by the school on their way to a tour stop at the Soho House in Santa Barbara—where they played on Nov. 18 after playing a concert in San Francisco on Nov. 16.
The band performed with members of Righetti’s marching, jazz, and marimba bands on the gym stage. Music teacher Nick Burdick said in a press release that the performance gave students a taste
of what it means to be professional musicians, exposed them to music careers, and inspired them to learn, practice, and improve.
“It was such a great experience to watch the students come alive to this music and see the possibilities that music holds,” Burdick said in the release. “Jared & the Mill are proof that making music for a living isn’t some pie-in-the-sky dream reserved for lucky celebrities. These are real people who make their living doing what they love. That’s always an inspiring message.”
Students said they found the experience engaging.
“They have a really unique sound without using amplifiers and [were] entirely acoustic,” student Cameron Edwards-Rea said in the release. “I loved it.”
This article appears in Nov 26 – Dec 3, 2014.