Greeley students gather for a concert featuring nine local student artists

Photos by Walter Pearce; more in “Read more…”
Monday, August 6, 2012
by Jill L. Klein

Nearly 100 Greeley students and alumni gathered at the home of rising junior Walter Pearce on Friday, August 3 for a concert featuring seven local musicians and two poets. The three and a half-hour event, entitled “Midsummer Disco,” provided an opportunity to expose young residents to a bit of “local culture,” according to Pearce.

“I have so many talented friends and we’re always working on our own projects, so I thought it’d be cool to bring everyone together for one massive event,” Pearce said. “It’s rare that you can go and see a bunch of high school and college kids performing their music, poetry and art in one place; I wanted to make it happen.”

For the line-up of performers and photos, see “Backyard “Midsummer Disco” of Greeley students and grads,” by Jill L. Klein, in today’s edition of NCNOW.org.

Pearce created a Facebook event for the concert, which was held in his backyard, and invited over 1,400 people.

“Everyone in our town is always worried about so many things other than culture; people here don’t get enough exposure to music, art and poetry,” Pearce said. “I wanted to host something locally so for once, people wouldn’t have to venture elsewhere – like the city – to see events like these.”

The sampling of local musicians was comprised entirely of current and former Greeley students.  Collin Leitch and Shinji Moon, 2012 alumni, performed poetry readings during the event.

Shinji Moon

To see the entire line-up of performers, with photos and links to their work, click HERE.

Free poetry chapbooks were distributed among the crowd, along with art zines – small books of art work – made by Walter Pearce. Cassettes of the night’s musical performances were sold for a modest $5. 

“I sold cassettes because most kids these days don’t know what it’s like to feel music in their hands,” Pearce said. “We’re all post-internet, and it’s easy to just download any song whenever you want. Having music in your hands gives you a feeling that’s hard to reach now-a-days.”

Pearce making a sign for Modern Diets

Walter Pearce would like to give a big thanks to his parents and everyone who came to support the performers. “I’m really glad that the event worked out so well,” he said. “Planning it wasn’t difficult, since everyone involved so was excited. There was a lot that could go wrong with the equipment, though, so I’m really thankful to everyone who helped make that work.”

Visit walterpearce.tumblr.com for his artwork blog, and knyd.tumblr.com for his regular blog. Follow him on Twitter @walterpearce.

Jill L. Klein is a 2012 Greeley graduate who is headed for Barnard College this fall. She is the founder of The Quake and a former New York Daily News intern.