The School of Rock Vacaville (California) opened one week before the pandemic hit. This didn’t stop them from amassing over 150 students and putting together two seven plus hour shows on May 23, 2021.
On a hot Sunday afternoon at Solano Brewery in Vacaville, California, a VW bus provided the backdrop to a group of multi-talented musicians and instructors (mostly kids). This was their second show in as many days and they did not disappoint. The crowd was mostly friends and family members of the kids but, you wouldn’t know who was with whom. They were just happy to be among friends and family rocking out to the music (well, and enjoying the beer, haha).
Broken up into categories ranging from “School 101” to “One hit wonders to “Classic metal”, these kids belted out the songs we all know and love. Each category had 7-10 songs and at least that number of kids. Some of these kids have some real talent. Many of them jumped from guitar one song, to bass on another then to drums and/or keyboards. Songs included 99 Red Balloons (Nena), Been caught stealing (Janes Addiction), Back in black (AC/DC) and Pain Killer (Judas Priest). One of the highlights was in the songwriters category. A 13 year old girl named Emma brought the crowd to tears with her heartfelt original about teen bullying.
One thing I did notice was, the older students (15-17 years old) helping the younger ones (some as young as 10 years old) with their instruments and placement on stage. The sense of comradery and support was amazing. I sure hope when they make it big, they can bring that kind of support and compassion to the bigger stages around the world.
If you have a School of Rock in your area, I highly suggest you check out your local talent. These kids are the future and the future is bright.
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Photographer of about 10 years, I have been shooting concerts for about 8 of those years. I started to get serious about concert photography about 6 or 7 years ago and now try to shoot as many as I can. I shoot mostly rock but, have done some country and big band stuff. I love music and since I am nowhere close to being a musician, this is a way I can be a small part of what, in the words of Henry Rollins, “gets me through the highs, the lows and everything in between”.
