For nearly 25 years, the Uptown Music Collective has been fulfilling its mission to provide exceptional music education and high-impact musical experiences. In anticipation of another epic performance season, the area’s premier nonprofit school of music has announced all of this year’s major shows, which will run from November 2024 through April 2025. With four opportunities to catch the students at the Community Arts Center, 220 W. Fourth St., there is a little something for every music lover and UMC fan.
Since 2000, Collective students have been performing in various settings through three types of performances: Student Showcases, in-house performances designed for younger students; Community Performance Groups, public performances that serve as proving grounds for intermediate students; and the Major Performance Group, intended for the school’s most skilled players who are prepared to take on much larger venues.
“The Major Performance Group is a significant catalyst for student growth,” said UMC Founder and Executive Director Dave Brumbaugh. “The goal of performing at the Community Arts Center as part of the Special Performance Group drives many students to work hard, push their limits, and succeed. This is also where our program forms a strong connection and deep relationship with much of our community. Our major performances are a true win-win. Students experience the thrill of performing in a professional venue with full production in front of large audiences, the community enjoys high-level performances from the talented youth next door, and these events help fund and sustain our nonprofit school, ensuring its continued success.”
To kick things off for a two-night run Nov. 8 and 9, the Uptown Music Collective will head down the tracks on the Midnight Train to Memphis: The Music of Modern Country. The show will feature talented young musicians performing hits by Chris Stapleton, Carrie Underwood, Luke Combs, Miranda Lambert, Morgan Wallen and more. This unforgettable evening of down-home music will celebrate today’s modern country stars and their most popular songs.
In the Jan. 25 Music That Made the Movies: Soundtracks That Rock!, performers will cover songs from iconic films like Top Gun, Pretty in Pink, The Bodyguard, Back to the Future, Young Guns, Dirty Dancing, Footloose, Armageddon and many more. This one-night-only People’s Choice fundraising show will be an evening filled with the beauty, passion and energy for which the Collective’s talented students are known.
Wonderwall: The Ultimate ’90s Mix, the UMC’s third season performance set for March 15, celebrates the diverse sounds of ’90s pop rock music, featuring hits from Oasis, Foo Fighters, Sheryl Crow, Green Day, Natalie Merchant, Jewel, Counting Crows, and more. This musical road trip honors the influential songs that defined one of the most colorful eras in rock history.
For its fourth and final appearance of the performance season, the Collective will pay tribute to some of the most significant arena rock bands of the 1980s in ’80s Arena Rock: Power Ballads & Rock Anthems for two nights, April 25 and 26. Featuring the music of rock heavyweights AC/DC and Aerosmith, alongside ’80s icons Bon Jovi, Journey, Heart, and Def Leppard, this show will be an unforgettable night of anthem-driven hits and power ballads.
“This season of performances offers a perfect mix of genres and decades, ensuring there’s something for everyone,” Brumbaugh said. “From the powerful songwriting and high energy of modern country to the emotional and exciting music from iconic movie soundtracks and the fun, driving pop rock of the late ’90s, it all leads up to the arena rock anthems of the early 1980s. This is one of the most balanced seasons we’ve put together.”
UMC senior Izzy Butters is most excited for the modern country show.
“It is the first show of my senior year, and I get the pleasure of directing it,” Butters said. “I have been pulling for a country show for years and I’m glad that we are finally making it happen. I’m so excited to execute the ideas I’ve had for this show with one of my best friends, Rian Gephart. It’s going to be a great show.”
Showtime for all UMC shows is 7:30 p.m. Tickets are only available through the Community Arts Center box office and website at http://www.caclive.com. For more information, visit uptownmusic.org/news-and-events or call 570-329-0888.
