In Boone, you can pick up a guitar and be invited to a band jam session; go to a coffee shop and meet someone who can connect you to a venue; or post a video on social media and find yourself at TApp Room onstage the next week.
This is because of Boone’s rich history of Appalachian music, stemming from the variation of folk music from the British Isles, which, in turn, nestles a hotspot of creativity and broadening music genres in the valley of a mountain. With the sheer number of bands and performers within Boone’s town limits, becoming a Boone artist may be intimidating to navigate, though not impossible.
Lucas Parente, keyboardist and vocalist, and Asher Rockriver, bass and rhythm guitarist, found each other organically while on campus and blossomed into Anchorage, an indie rock band. The two musicians performed together on Sanford Mall last year and after that performance decided to build upon their sound base and recruit new members Katherine Baloga, vocalist and flutist, and Owen Watkins, lead guitarist.
For Cold Front, a hard rock and metal band, it was a similar story. Shannon Kletzoff, bassist and background vocalist, was invited to a jam session by Joe Whallen, drums, and was part of the band from that point forward.
“In a band setting, you have to rely on your bandmates and work together to produce a full musical picture together,” Kletzoff said.
The Boone music scene stems from living rooms and dorm buildings and grows into a Saturday night specialty.
Cold Front schedules its practices, meeting twice a week throughout the semester, so they are consistently working towards bettering their sound and dynamic. Once they are closer to the date of their show, they decide on a setlist and play through it from beginning to end to work out any kinks.
Anchorage has a subgroup of songwriters, featuring Parente, Rockriver and Baloga, as the three have been writing songs since high school. The subgroup brings songwriting and performing ideas to practices and as a band they will discuss the intricacies of dynamic instrumentals and harmonies.
With multiple avenues for performing in Boone, from club events to selling out The Appalachian Theatre of the High Country, booking a show can either be a quick turnaround or take months to plan.
“Lots of venues in Boone book shows several months out, so you have to be on top of everything so you’re lining up shows that sometimes won’t happen for another 2 to 3 months,” Kletzoff said.
Parente said TApp Room, one of the bars in Boone, is especially welcoming to new bands, and Boone Central — @boone.central on Instagram — is a great place to start talking to promoters.
“I’ve found that just talking to the other bands at events are a great way of both networking as well as talking to similarly minded people,” Parente said. “Most musicians here in Boone are great about appreciating each other’s sounds and the skills everyone brings to the table in our music scene.”
Amidst tweets, clickbait and 15-second clips, it can be hard to keep up with content, let alone stand out among the crowd. Social media in a musical context is not only for building a personality, but can also help connect a band with its “correct” audience, according to Forbes.
Anchorage’s Parente said he believes social media is an excellent tool, particularly in the tight-knit music scene in Boone. He added that social media on a broader scale creates a “decentralized music network” and doesn’t require music labels in order to attain success.
“Because of that, it can be a little scary navigating what feels like the Wild West of music social media, where a lot of today’s music aims to be more and more sensationalist in order to pull views,” Parente said.
Cold Front’s Kletzoff said she uses social media to book shows and talk with other bands in addition to building a presence and personality on platforms.
Freshman psychology major MacKenzie Clegg started using social media to her advantage before she even stepped on campus. She posted on the App State 2028 Snapchat story looking for people as passionate about music as she to connect and build a presence in Boone.
“My biggest goal has always been to perform to give someone an experience whether it’s to feel joy, sadness, anger, or to feel seen or heard,” Clegg said.
Clegg has written songs since middle school but started taking it seriously in January. She posted videos of her songs on social media and a producer from Nashville reached out to her, and she and her producers are working on an EP they hope to record by the start of the school year.
“I chose to continue to pursue music in college to make as many connections with professors and peers as possible so I can learn as much as I can from them and continue to grow as a musician,” she said.