On Saturday, the music of Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix and Crosby Stills and Nash will be heard in Columbia after all.
While the much-anticipated 50th Woodstock anniversary concert was teased then canceled, first in New York and then at Merriweather Post Pavilion, the music of the watershed 1969 concert will be celebrated by the students of School of Rock Columbia at their own free Woodstock Music Festival in the school’s parking lot on Oakland Mills Road.
“It’s a tribute to the original artists at Woodstock,” said Cody Carr, house band director and general manager of the school. “We knew the 50th anniversary was coming up. It’s cool kids can be involved, letting them experience that era of music.”
Offering lessons on how to play bass guitar, guitar, drums, keyboard/piano and in voice, the School of Rock also teaches students how to act and move on stage while performing. Its performance program gives students a chance to play in a variety of shows throughout the year, with its house band being the top attraction.
Consisting of 15 kids ranging in age from 12 to 18, members of the house band have to audition to be part of the band and Carr looks not only for talent, but for students who are leaders.
“These are the kids that bring their game with music and stand up and help others,” Carr said. “They have been working so hard this year. These kids would give a lot of local artists a run for their money.”
Austin Veney, 17, of Laurel, joined the school over two years ago as a vocalist. He has since added guitar lessons.
“It’s a pretty good school,” Veney said. “It has taught me a lot. Stage presence was a big one.”
For many of the songs at a Friday night rehearsal, Veney sang or played guitar, moving around the stage like a pro.
“I didn’t know that much Janis Joplin,” Veney said, of the Woodstock set. “It was pretty interesting the playlist Cody put together. There’s a lot of Joplin, Hendrix, the Who, Crosby, Stills and Nash. A lot of interesting songs.”
According to fellow bandmate Ryan Koch, Veney and he are, “like most budding guitarists, Jimi Hendrix fans.”
“Guitarists naturally choose him,” Koch, of Windsor Mill said, adding that “Voodoo Chile” was his favorite Hendrix song.
At Friday’s rehearsal, the band ripped through Hendrix’s “Red House” with Koch jamming upfront. Things were a little calmer when Hannah Sobieck, 15, of Westminster, and Campbell Schroder, 13, of Columbia, sang Joplin’s “Mercedes Benz.”
“I really like Janis Joplin,” Schroder said. “Her song ‘Me and Bobby McGee,’ I really like the whole song and the country twang.”
A former Peabody student for voice, Schroder was thrilled when she came to School of Rock over two years ago.
“It was not my style,” Schroder said of her time at Peabody. “You had to be a certain way. Here, I can express myself.”
She also had no idea what Woodstock was.
“I never had exposure to rock ’n’ roll in general,” Schroder said, as her parents did not previously listen to it.
“They enjoy it more than the chorus concerts,” Schroder said.
Aislinn Coghlan, 16, of Columbia, has been singing her whole life in choirs and in musical theater and been told she has a “pretty pure voice.”
During her two years at School of Rock, she has learned a new technique, vocal fry, which is singing in the lowest natural register.
“It’s a safe way to make that sound,” Coghlan said, of the creaky, low register sound she can now make without hurting her vocal cords.
“It’s a very different side of me,” Coghlan said.
Her personal favorite of the Woodstock set is the Who’s “Pinball Wizard.”
For Owen Masters, 12, one of the youngest members of the house band, Janis Joplin is his favorite.
“'Piece of My Heart’ by Janis Joplin," Masters said. “That’s just the best one in my opinion. It has a really good bass line.”
Carr is planning a full lineup of performances for the Woodstock Music Festival with other activities, too, including a moon bounce, games, raffles, face painting, free lessons, food and more.
“It’s cool to see 11 and 18 years old on stage rocking out to Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin,” Carr said. “Age is not the question. It’s all about the music.”
The Woodstock Music Festival will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 31, at the School of Rock Columbia, 6935 Oakland Mills Road, Suite N, Columbia. For more information, call 410-415-1970.