FALL 2025

Warm up your vocal cords and get ready for two of the world’s best-selling bands in one show! ABBA, a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1972, and The Bee Gees, a musical group from Australia formed in 1958 by brothers Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb, are both among the most renowned and commercially successful musical groups in the history of popular music. ABBA vs Bee Gees is an amazing show that will challenge vocal students to master harmonies, guitar players to learn the concepts of pop guitar, drummers to hold down a groove, keyboardists to grasp the sounds and arrangements of pop music, and bassists to learn from creative and rock-solid bass foundations. This show is a great challenge for all students, and they’ll cover classic songs from both bands including, Staying Alive, Dancing Queen, How Deep Is Your Love, Mamma Mia, To Love Somebody, Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! and many more.

Radiohead has emerged in the 21st century as torchbearers of the progressive rock tradition and have threaded the needle between innovation and popularity as well as anyone. With over 100 million albums sold worldwide, Coldplay is one of the best-selling music acts of all time. This show will dive deep into the music of both bands. Students will learn about instrumental experimentation as well as culturally relevant lyrics and themes, through a blend of different musical styles. The Radiohead vs. Coldplay show is an ambitious challenge for all student levels but can be one of the most rewarding and educational shows offered by School of Rock.

In the history of Rock music, there have been only a few artists that completely changed the way their instrument is played. Inspired by the great players of the 60’s, Eddie Van Halen revolutionized guitar playing in the late 70’s, setting the bar for generations to come and becoming one of the most emulated players of all time. His dazzling use of two hand tapping, lightning-fast legato runs, and aggressive use of the whammy bar influenced virtually every guitar player to come after him. Following their smash debut album, Van Halen, which featured Eddie’s dazzling guitar solo “Eruption”, Van Halen went on to release a string of LPs, culminating in the commercially successful 1984. The release of 1984 included “Jump”, their biggest hit yet, that featured Eddie’s keyboard playing. The record featured other classic VH songs such as “Panama” and “Hot For Teacher”, which were also hugely popular on MTV. Students who are lucky enough to rock out in the Van Halen show will learn Alex Van Halen’s (Eddie’s brother) thunderous drumming, David Lee Roth’s over-the-top vocal performances, and Michael Anthony’s rock-solid bass playing and high vocal harmonies. A great show for ambitious guitar players and lovers of catchy yet challenging Hard Rock anthems.

Southern Rock encompasses more than just music generated by bands south of the Mason-Dixon Line. It’s a vibe and emotion that stems from a long painful history of racism, oppression, economic hardship, and classism. However the very spirit of Southern Rock is one of healing and reconciliation.

Rock and Roll has deep roots in the South, and this show will feature the best of Southern Rock through the years – from early artists such as Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis, to bluesy southern rockers like The Allman Brothers, Lynyrd Skynyrd, ZZ Top, and Bonnie Raitt, to modern practitioners like Gary Clark Jr., Carrie Underwood, and The Black Crowes. The Southern Rock show will thrust guitar players to the forefront with guitar harmonies and advanced soloing based on the pentatonic scale. Bass players will dig deep into groove playing. Drummers will learn to play through different feels like shuffles, boogies, plus half-time and double-time transitions. Keyboardists will be challenged with new styles as they utilize diverse sounds ranging from piano to Hammond organ to Rhodes electric piano. Vocalists will gain an understanding of Southern-style harmony and emotive singing. This show offers many challenges for ambitious and experienced players!

We strive for well-balanced shows where all our students are challenged and get equal opportunity for parts. Please understand that factors such as attendance at rehearsals, behavior at rehearsals and musical preparation for rehearsals can affect the number of songs a student is assigned. The School of Rock method is merit based. While a show’s first casting is as equitable as possible, in subsequent castings we reward commitment, hard work and steady improvement.

We know many students have talents beyond the instruments they study at the school of Rock. We do our best to encourage (and show off) all our students’ abilities! However, students who take lessons on an instrument at school of Rock get priority casting on that instrument in shows. Students are guaranteed to be assigned parts only on instruments they are actively taking lessons at school of Rock. Depending on the makeup of the show’s cast, we may not be able to accommodate students who wish to perform on an instrument (including vocals) that they do not study at School of Rock. If your student is interested in studying an additional instrument, please reach out to discuss options