On February 27, ASB hosted their annual Unplugged event, welcoming many students, staff and families to indulge in live music performances by Skyline Students.
Unplugged prides itself for being an unrated, unscored talent show, creating an
open environment for those who may just want to put their skills out there. A group of talented friends gave me an insight on the band they created specifically for the event. Although they don’t have a name and have never performed together, their performance left everyone with the impression that they had been making music together for years with their incredible execution of Radiohead’s top charting song, “Creep”. Brett Lorain, an 11th grader that sang in the band said, “It’s really cool because it just gives people the chance to just perform in front of an audience and they don’t usually get the chance to do that.”
Although the idea of singing to an audience can seem anxiety inducing, a few students reported that they felt drastically more comfortable being alongside other musicians and friends. Another singer in freshman year explained how his favorite thing about unplugged was the environment.
“It’s a close community within the school, because I knew half the people performing, almost everyone in the audience, so it’s pretty special.” Luke Mcgee said.
Both solo artists and bands can sign up for the event, as there are little to no limits to what students can carry out to the crowd. Numerous spectators cheered and clapped in awe of their peers talented, frequently personally congratulating them after completing their set.
Jorge Porras, who played Bass for the band went into depth about the background leading up to their extraordinary performance. “They’re some of my closest friends and they’re all pretty musically talented, so I figured we
might as well group together and make songs[..]I liked the atmosphere; it was really nice playing for some of my friends and students.” Porras said.
This year, ASB’s dedication to the scenery was evident. Around the stage’s perimeter, there were white and yellow LED tube lights, giving a candlelight
effect to the rather dim area. All attention was focused towards the musician’s artistry, giving a full chance for the performers to show their capabilities. Shiven Juneja, the lead guitarist of the group appreciated the immersive experience.
“They decorated pretty cool[…] The strip lights on the stage, I thought it could make cool photos, I thought it would be in the Lyceum theatre, but it wasn’t, it was out in the commons.” Juneja said.
The effort that all the musicians put into this event is heavily admirable and it is excellent to see the Unplugged event continuing. Students and staff at Skyline all offer anyone wanting to join next year’s unplugged to sign up during the next winter season.
“Go for it and it’s really exciting to see everyone’s talent.” Sidu Thallikar said.
