Music

Are U-Ghana Come to the Show?

annual benefit at Memorial showcases student bands

Tom Giffey, photos by Andrea Paulseth |

U-Ghana Rock, 2013
U-Ghana Rock, 2013

High school band means more than trumpets, trombones, and football halftime shows. It also means talented teens exercising their musical chops with guitars, amps, and drums in basements and garages. The annual U-Ghana Rock concert at Memorial High School gives these kinds of high school bands a wider audience while raising money for a good cause. Admission is just $5, and proceeds go to Potter’s Village, an organization in the West African nation of Ghana, that operates an orphanage, a battered women’s shelter, and other programs for women and children.

The 10 bands, which feature musicians from Memorial and North high schools as well as UW-Eau Claire, range in genre from rock to metal to funk to acoustic – much of it brassed up by the schools’ strong jazz programs. The evening’s lineup includes Burning December, Neon Salmon, Chase & Kate, AA, The Green Beans, Spencer Rhoten, Ghost Hook, Through the Kitchen Hole, The Yellow Dog Club, Satteurs, and The Third Ward.

The concert will serve as an album release show for the latter band’s debut album, “Red and Blue.” Alex Hoff, one of the event’s organizers and a member of The Third Ward, says U-Ghana rock is a student-initiated event that gives student musicians valuable exposure. “There aren’t too many opportunities for high school students, to get out and play,” Hoff says. If you want to support the future stars of Eau Claire’s music scene, U-Ghana rock is a great place to start. –Tom Giffey

U-Ghana Rock • Thursday, March 29, 7-10:30pm • Memorial High School, 2225 Keith St., Eau Claire • $5 • all ages • (715) 456-0779 • alhoff12@gmail.com