MTSU draws students from all over the country to participate in its recording industry programs and Nashville is the country music capital of the world, its musical heritage certainly rubbing off on Murfreesboro, but what about the blossoming musicians in the area who are finding their sound and growing as artists, but aren’t of legal age to sit at a bar?
If an establishment serves alcohol, the age restriction at the door is at least 18 and up. So where can a young musician go to play a show, and where can the young fans go to watch?
“There’s no place for people under 18 to listen to music,” says Ryan York, executive director of local community organization Youth Empowerment Through Arts & Humanities.
The Vine on Vine Street in downtown Murfreesboro is the only music venue in town that doesn’t have age restrictions, because, yeah, it’s not a bar. YEAH, a growing program that promotes personal progress, creativity, volunteerism and equality through music and the arts, stages the occasional all ages show at The Vine.
I caught the last show on Jan. 30. We Were the States, Kindergarten Circus and The Lake played to a room full of people of all ages, many fans and friends who wouldn’t have been able to attend if not for YEAH and the all ages venue.
YEAH offers other programs to kids ages 10 to 17. All but one of these programs are musically based, though each is unique and has minimal costs.
The Southern Girls Rock and Roll Camp is a summer day camp where 90 girls and 60 volunteers meet for one week at MTSU’s Wright Music Building. There the girls learn about music appreciation, preparation and the arts. At the end of the week they preform a final showcase to nearly a thousand people.
School of Recording is a month-long, hands-on class covering the basics of the recording industry. There students can learn about film or sound and music theory, among many course options, and leave with a CD of a professional local artist that they record themselves.
Rock Blok is a three-month-long program where kids are placed with bands who have three or four members. There each young musician will learn to play and write music and at the end of the summer participants put their new skills to use in a showcase performance.
The Screen Printing Club is an after-school program that teaches students about T-shirt, flyer and other design, and how to print them. And, best of all, it’s free!
Then of course, there’s the All Ages Show, currently finding a home at The Vine.
While the $5 shows are currently once a month, York continues, “We are working out a deal right now for a new facility where we can put on a lot more.”
The next show at the Vine will be March 7, and the lineup will be announced soon.
For more information on any of the programs that YEAH offers, concert dates and volunteer opportunities, visit yeahintheboro.org.
