On a saturday evening at the Neutral Zone in Ann Arbor, a handful of student led bands performed a concert for their fans, and peers to come see. The four bands that played were, Rosewood, Pyramid Schemes, The American Automobile, and Earl Grey and The Teabaggers.  

Sophomore at Community High, Kasey Neff, came to support some friends. Neff was invited by a friend, and wasn’t doing anything else, “I’m actually glad I did, I didn’t think it’d be this nice.” Neff said. She thinks it’s fun seeing our peers display their talent in their own way, and not led by a teacher. This way the students really have optimal creative opportunity. Contrary, Neff is not as fond of the price as she is of the bands. “I didn’t want to pay five dollars, that almost made me not want to come.” said Neff. She encourages the Neutral Zone to hold more of these concerts and hopes, with more frequency, that the prices will lower.

Rosewood is a student band from Community high school. It’s members are Mason Cox, Clarence Collins, Emily Tschirhart, Mase Simons, Jamal Harding, and Sam Uribe. Uribe has had a good experience so far, “[The band is] kind of time consuming,” said Uribe. Even so, he loves going to shows and making music with his friends. Rosewood is currently doing covers of other songs and want to begin making their own music, but haven’t had enough time. When school is finally out and the long summer days are here, expect to see some original Rosewood songs! “We are trying to do a mix of hip hop, soul, neo-soul, and r&b type stuff.” said Uribe. “Erykah Badu, Amy Winehouse. Stuff like that.”

Live on Washington, is an outdoor music and arts festival hosted by the Neutral Zone teens. This year Live is on June 4th, 2016, “everyone should come!” said Uribe. At Live you can see student led, and local bands like Rosewood. There will also be special guests announced closer to the date, which means very soon! The most exciting thing about Live on Washington is that it’s free! The weather may not be great, but that has never stopped Live in previous years. These bands love to play so much, they’ll even play in pouring rain!