Arts & Entertainment
VIDEO: Young Musicians Show Their Skills At Shoreline Youth Jam
Nine musical groups competed at the fourth-annual event
From the acoustic twang of the Budget String Band to the high-energy rock of Fate Descends, kids and teens showcased their musical talents and competed for a $300 prize in front of parents, friends and judges on Friday.
Now in its fourth year, the Shoreline Youth Jam has grown from a small affair in the Richmond Beach Congregational Church that struggled to find enough acts to fill the bill to a city-wide event that attracts youth musicians from throughout the area.
This year’s event took place in the Shoreline Community College Pagoda Union Building and featured judges and volunteers from professional music groups, including Josh Rawlings from Soul Kata, Leah Stillwell from the Leah Stillwell Trio and Doug Reid, a music professor at Shoreline Community College.
Find out what's happening in Shoreline-Lake Forest Parkwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Judges listened to each group and provided American Idol-style critique after each act, lending praise to each musician and offering nuggets of guidance to hone their live performances.
The last act of the night, punk band Fate Descends, took first place, with blues and classic rock cover band Misoneism taking second, and solo singer and guitarist Alejandra Guido taking third.
Find out what's happening in Shoreline-Lake Forest Parkwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Most musicians performed one or two original songs and a cover.
“Every person on this stage brought it,” said emcee and professional jazz player Jason Parker. “They put their heart and soul on display, and that’s not easy to do.”
Stefanie Gendreau, who helped organize the event, said the Youth Jam is intended to encourage kids to stick with music and give young musicians in Shoreline a place to play.
“We are really excited to be promoting music for the city,” Gendreau said. “Seattle is known for it, so we want to do something for Shoreline, too.”
Gendreau said this year’s response was impressive, and the committee had to cut a few acts in lieu of time constraints. In total, nine acts performed for 20 minutes apiece.
Other acts included Kapur/Pope-Levinson, a piano and bass duo composed of Max Kapur and Jeremy Pope-Levinson; Freak Out, a rock band composed of Abe Friedman, Matt Bell, Jack Powell, Dylan Russian and Aidan Weed; solo vocalist Ivan Brown; rock band D-Frost, composed of Bogui Adjorlolo, Koissi Adjorlolo, Drew Nisco, Josiah Salo and McKay West; and solo pianist Karen Haining.
Click on the gallery to the right to view photos from the event.