Starting a rock band can be hard. University of Arkansas seniors Breanna McArdle and Milcah Hulen-Posnak can attest.
Breanna McArdle: We met in high school when we were juniors and seniors. We started a band called The Misdemeanors, and it was an all-girl high school band.
Milcah Hulen-Posnak: And yeah, we lacked a lot of help and resources. And so there was not that many underage venues here. And usually they're only here for a day and then we lose them. And so-
McArdle: It was during COVID.
Hulen-Posnak: And yeah, it was during COVID, it was the worst time to try to start a band. And so we decided we'd love to start a program that we wished we would have had at that age.
So they started RockEd. It's a rock band program at the Fayetteville Folk School and Ozark Folkways for students ages 8 to 18. They offer individual lessons, an after-school program and summer camps. The founders say their mission is to teach young musicians fundamental skills one-on-one, while building the next generation of bands across Northwest Arkansas and maintaining accessible, low-cost programming.
They have an upcoming showcase at Prairie Street Live on Oct. 22 that'll benefit their scholarship program. So Ozarks at Large's Jack Travis invited Milcah and Breanna to the Firmin-Garner Performance Studio to share more about what they do. Breanna says they offer a comprehensive program from fundamental instrument lessons to help with setting up your equipment.
McArdle: I think for me, I wish I had more of a representation of how to play more rock piano or the keyboard in a way, and then really understanding how to work gear, just your amps and your cables. I think when we were 16 years old, it was hard to figure out all by ourselves all of these things and then how to book venues and ...
Hulen-Posnak: Yeah, totally. How to market ourselves. You're in high school, you can barely started driving. Half of us couldn't drive in the beginning. And so figuring out that on top of not having any resources or local venues that are willing to give you a shot or whatever. So I think we try to be a platform where students can start, but we don't want to ... we always want to encourage them to go out and do their own thing when they're ready as well.
McArdle: So with RockEd, we offer individual lessons and bands to students 8 and up right now. And so for our younger students, we focus a lot on songwriting. They write their own original songs with their band, and then we do some fun covers and talk a lot about stage presence and self-confidence and things like that.
And then with the older kids or teenagers, we typically spend more time on gear and original songs, of course. And then we also have an internship program we just started.
Hulen-Posnak: Yeah, for students ages 15 and up. So our older high school teens. And we also have a curriculum that we call music herstory. So all three of us are women. And marginalized peoples that have faced a lot of discrimination in the industry.
And so we try to teach our students about the herstory that comes before us. So artists like Sister Rosetta Tharpe, like Joan Jett, all of these iconic blues women, people of color, LGBT people, women who have paved the way for where we're all today.
Jack Travis: How do you facilitate that transition from an individual act, someone taking individual lessons, into more of a full rock band performance?
Hulen-Posnak: I think that we like to take it from the perspective of, every kid has the potential and is ready if given the right kind of guidance. Regardless of age, regardless of experience, we have a very kid-first approach, I guess, sort of very individualized learning.
And so for the most part, students don't have to do a long time of individual lessons before bands. Our super younger students, under 8, you got to get a little bit of experience in. But outside of that, we really encourage them to learn songs in their individual lessons that they actually like and are interested in, do those cover songs, learn the basics.
That's why we require individual lessons so that they can do theory, they can do these skill-based learning and then they can go far with their original songs in their bands. So yeah, I think that you can't have one without the other. I think that you definitely need individual lessons for all of that background knowledge on your instrument.
But I also think that bands are where the kids thrive. They get to be with kids their age, have a social circle, especially for our angsty teens who we love so much. But that's a hard time in your life. And so we've found that bands really give them an experience that lessons never would when it comes to the social and confidence building.
McArdle: And with our summer camps, we have every summer, those are open to any age, no experience necessary. So by the end of the week, they have to perform their song with their band at a venue. Last year we did Jammin Java. So some were smaller, but they still ... it's really amazing how they're able to ... we've had students who have never touched a bass before or the drums. And then they are able to get on stage on Friday and perform.
And I think it's just, we kind of teach with a, you have to find the rhythm first and you have to really be a band and look around, make sure you understand what your bandmates are doing. And we kind of teach them a little bit on each instrument so they really understand what each other are doing so that they can play together.
Travis: So you're seeing improvement, technical improvement on their instrument. But you're also seeing some of those soft skills improve.
Hulen-Posnak: Totally. And the songwriting process, even at our age, is really difficult with a band. You have to talk about your emotions. You have to debate over what you want to include, what you don't want to include. And so I think all of those things are so important. And I think our programming is unique in teaching that.
Travis: Well, Fayetteville is going to be able to see some of the fruits of that labor coming up here in October. So tell me about RockEd's Fall Fest on Oct. 22.
Hulen-Posnak: So we are having a benefit concert called Fall Fest at Prairie Street Live on Oct. 22. It's Thursday night. All proceeds are going to go to our scholarship fund. So we really prioritize being an accessible, low-cost, low-barrier programming for all families that are interested.
And so we have scholarships to both our summer camps and our after-school programming. And we even provide instruments to take home for families who can't afford to buy one. So all of the funds from this benefit concert will go towards that.
We're going to have our three current after-school bands, our elementary, middle school and high school-aged kiddos, perform their original songs. And then we're going to have each of our girl bands, Stiletto Vendetta and The Belladonnas, and another sister band, Mount Comfort, perform as well.
And yeah, doors are open at 6. We're going to have a costume contest, thanks to our intern's idea. And then our bands will perform at 7.
Travis: Yeah. So what are you seeing from the students? Are they excited to get to be in a showcase? Y'all are in some big-name bands. Mount Comfort, big-name band. This is some serious stuff. How do they feel?
McArdle: Yes, they're definitely really excited. And a lot of them have seen our bands or Mount Comfort play before. And so they're really excited to be kind of opening for them.
Hulen-Posnak: Especially our teenagers. Yeah, our teens are really excited because we have some Mount Comfort superfans.
McArdle: Yeah, I'd say.
Travis: And let's talk about that just for a little bit. Y'all are both in the scene, girl rock in Fayetteville. How do you feel like that has evolved or maybe shifted over the course of history?
McArdle: Yeah. So when we were in The Misdemeanors, there was not any other all-girl bands, especially at our age at the time, except for Witchsister, which they were very much ... they really inspired us and they helped us. They were our mentors and a lot of our teachers.
Hulen-Posnak: We did School of Rock as kids, all of us Misdemeanors, which is then what led us to want to create our own programming that's a little more focused on songwriting and being accessible to all families. But we sort of took our experience there and under Witchsister.
McArdle: Yeah. And at least I'd like to think I've seen more girl bands come into the scene in Fayetteville.
Ozarks at Large's Jack Travis speaking with RockEd founders Breanna McArdle and Milcah Hulen-Posnak. You can visit rockednwa.com for more information about their programming and the Oct. 22 benefit concert at Prairie Street Live in Fayetteville.
Ozarks at Large transcripts are created on a rush deadline and edited for length and clarity. Copy editors utilize AI tools to review work. KUAF does not publish content created by AI. Please reach out to kuafinfo@uark.edu to report an issue. The audio version is the authoritative record of KUAF programming.
