Youth Reviewer Lab: Kalamazoo Academy of Rock musicians deliver high-voltage show at Bell’s

Editor’s Note: Youth Reviewer Lab is a new series that is part of our Voices of Youth Kalamazoo, sponsored by the Stryker Johnston Foundation, and Curtain Call, sponsored by the I.S. Gilmore Foundation. Youth reviewers offer a front-row seat to the unique, lively, and memorable performances shaping Kalamazoo’s youth arts scene.

KALAMAZOO, MI — Inside Bell’s Backroom, dozens of audience members could feel the thumping basses and ringing guitars, harmonizing together with the vocalists. On Dec. 2, five young bands from the Kalamazoo Academy of Rock played melodic sets, hyping up the crowd with their unique covers of songs. 

With skilled youth of all ages performing on stage, the room was packed with family, friends, and avid rock fans. The crowd gathered closely around the stage, buzzing with excitement after each band closed and the next walked on. The performers stood on stage, one band at a time, drowning in bright spotlights. With every new song, the band members were surrounded in a flurry of colors, adding to the overall ambiance.

KAR was founded in 2009 by Jeff Mitchell and is currently directed by musician Jay Gavan. Gavan closely oversees every band and each prodigy, working with band directors to mentor the young musicians. Presently, Gavan manages 13 bands, interacting with students as young as eight and as old as 18. The wide range of ages allows for kids in diverse stages of life to participate. 

Bands are reorganized every 12 weeks as students come and go in between semesters. Gavan and his band directors group kids together based on age, skill, familiarity with each other, and where players are needed. 

“We can’t have a band of five drummers. 
It’s got to be a drummer, a bassist, a guitarist, keyboard, and vocals,” says Gavan. “They all have to be available on the same night to rehearse, there has to be a band director available, and the room has to be available, so it’s a bunch of different coordinated things that have to come together.” 

Second-year guitarist Alexander Velo finds Gavan’s system exciting and helpful for meeting like-minded teens. 

“In Kalamazoo, there’s probably no better way for a kid to meet people who want to play rock music,” says Velo. “To play with these people, play at Bell’s, I’ve always had the best experience doing all of it.”

Once musicians are dispersed, they get three months to select a list of songs and rehearse. Velo enjoys the program and what it has to offer kids every term. 

“I think the main thing is just the process, the three months of meeting your band, picking the songs, and then practicing them,” says Velo. “It’s always something fun to look forward to.”

The months of hard work that KAR bands put in are not for nothing. Each student performed impressive songs with admirable skill. 

Nearly every song played was a well-known fan favorite, and bands invited the crowd to dance and sing along to the music. Each band chose a setlist of songs and performed them with passion and stellar expertise. The bands played in perfect sync with each other, showing their forte for keeping tempo and playing enthusiastically. 

Velo finds the skill impressive, for he has struggled in the past to work with a larger band. Velo finds it more difficult to work together when there are multiple people playing the same instrument.

“It was way too much noise, and it was hard to get a good sound out because you couldn’t solo on something,” says Velo. “Now I’m the only guitarist in the band, so I have to learn to take everything. I think that decrease in guitars worked for me.” 

Despite his difficulties in the past, Velo has grown as a guitarist and team player.

During each set, students in different bands enjoyed the performers with the audience. Gavan frequently sees younger students idolize the older teen bands on stage. 

“They’ll see a 17-year-old kid do a song and they go, ‘Man, that was cool,’ so then they want to do that,” says Gavan. 

The bands played covers of popular rock songs like Muse’s “Supermassive Black Hole” and Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off.” The floor vibrated with every drum hit, and the walls were illuminated with drifting lights. Every musician lit the room with their presence, smiling as they played with each other. The community that surrounds KAR solidly supports the students, directors, and fans of the program.

“Everybody pushes each other to get better every week, and that’s a really great dynamic,” says Gavan. “It isn’t necessarily how good you are, it’s more ‘how much do you want to push yourself at this thing?’”

The academy is currently open for registration. Interested youth can apply for auditions on the KAR website. 

After over a year in the program, Velo’s only regret in KAR is that he didn’t start sooner. 

“I think it was the dumbest thing I ever did was say ‘I’m going to pass on this session,’” says Velo. “Kalamazoo Academy of Rock is an awesome program. I think anybody who’s into rock music or plays an instrument should do it.”

Sage Lee is a junior at Loy Norrix High School and a chief copy editor for his student newspaper, Knight Life. He has been studying journalistic writing since August 2024 and plans to major in journalism after high school.