Family Weekend has come and gone, and with it came many wonderful experiences for students and parents. One of these events was the performance of the University of Tennessee at Martin’s newest modern band, the Rockhawks.
The Rockhawks isn’t just a cool band name; it also represents where the band was formed. Everyone in the ensemble comes from the Music Ensemble 305 course known as “Topics: Modern Band”. It’s in that class every Tuesday and Thursday where their instructor, Micah Barnes, helps them build their skills. Barnes is the Technical Specialist and Lecturer for the Department of Music at UT Martin. Barnes is also the founder of Rockhawks.
“Well, last semester, there were a couple of them in the group who came up and requested that we have this ensemble as a thing, as a class,” said Barnes. “And I told them if they wanted to do it, go speak with our chair. If there was enough interest, I would be happy to be the instructor of record to do this. I was sort of the natural choice to be the person to do this, which is essentially an ensemble that would focus on things outside of our standard curriculum, which would be classical, jazz, more structured. This is a bit more industrial, more commercial based music.”
The band had their initial performance at this year’s Martoberfest in downtown Martin on Oct. 3. Since then, they have honed their craft even further, and on Sunday, Oct. 18, they put that practice into play with their very first performance at UT Martin. The performance was held in the UT Martin Fine Arts Band Room at 1:30 p.m. and was overseen by Barnes. There was a good sized crowd filled with family, friends and fans who all showed up to support the Rockhawks.
The performance began with an energetic cover of “25 or 6 to 4” by Chicago. Alto Sax player Garrett “Girty” Morgan stepped up as a vocalist alongside freshman trumpet player Tayler King. The band not only included traditional rock instruments like electric and bass guitars, but it also had brass instruments including a trombone and a tuba. This instrumentation made it a very unique experience for the host of people present. Despite it being an interesting concept, it still causes a few issues when being put into practice.
“It went from being what would have been historically called a power trio to, obviously, a horn band at this point,” said Barnes.“Which is a great problem to have, but it’s still a problem. We have to come up with the charts. We have to figure out, you know, democratically decide what music we’re going to play, and from then on the logistics just kinda balloon as one might expect.”
Following the first song, Rockhawks leader and electric guitarist Markus Burton spoke up about what the Rockhawks were about and talked about how excited they were to perform. This brief speech was followed by renditions of “Valerie” by Amy Winehouse and “Come On, Come Over” by Jaco Pastorius, in which vocalists King, Morgan and Livvy Ralph showcased their individual skills and vocal ranges. The work involved with preparing for this show physically, vocally and instrumentally paid off tenfold, as the crowd couldn’t get enough of the band.
“It took a lot of hard work, a lot of hard work,” said King, a freshman Music Education major from Parsons, Tennessee. “We have worked for about four and a half weeks for this performance. It was more exciting work because we actually got to do something, like, music that we loved.”
King is also the Logistics Coordinator and Social Media Manager for the Rockhawks.
Before the band finished with a rendition of “Play That Funky Music” by Wild Cherry, Burton spoke to the crowd one last time. He thanked everyone for coming out and told them that the following cover would be more of a silly one compared to what the feel of the earlier songs were. What followed was the most electrifying performance by far. It began with a normal vocal cover by King, then divulged into a sillier performance when Morgan began ad libbing “Hot In Herre” by Nelly during the song. King and Ralph joined in the ad libbing, showing that the band values having fun while performing. The familiarity that they have with each other shows in how they play and sing together. For example, Burton and Morgan played against each other on the alto sax and electric guitar respectively. They had a brief, friendly bout in which each player would take turns one upping the other. This, combined with the energy from the rest of the band, made for a fantastic finale.
Barnes has enjoyed seeing the band’s growth over the past few months.
“It’s been fabulous! It’s cause I genuinely didn’t know what to expect,” said Barnes. “And honestly, next semester, I’m not really sure what to expect, because it depends on who signs up for the course. So that, I really enjoy that aspect of it. I personally like being thrown into uncomfortable situations, cause it makes you figure it out. I don’t like prescribed situations so much. And this has been anything but a prescribed situation.”
The Rockhawks made their impact on the UT Martin community with this initial performance on campus and left their fans wanting more. The hard work and dedication of the entire band, alongside the guidance of Barnes, makes for a modern band worth talking about.
To keep up with the band’s exploits, fans can follow them at @rockhawks26 on Instagram. Both Skyhawks and Martin residents alike await the next appearance of their very own rock band with bated breath.
