Student music competition Aspen Rocks ‘changes lives’
Roaring Fork Valley students to compete starting this weekend; winners get professional studio time
Matt Snell/Courtesy Photo
When Tristan Trincado auditioned for the Aspen Rocks competition last year, he didn’t expect to work with one of the biggest music companies in the industry.
But once the Basalt High School senior placed third in the “American Idol”-esque competition and landed his first professional recording time at local recording studio Mad Dog Ranch + Studio, he soon found his music added to music cornerstone Gibson Guitar’s playlists. He had been noticed by Gibson CEO Cesar Gueikian after releasing his recordings online.
“It definitely kind of changed my life in a way,” Trincado said of Aspen Rocks. He has since performed in front of music labels in Nashville, Tennessee.
Competitors of Aspen Rocks will once again have the chance to win studio time, with the competition kicking off this week for the sixth through 12th graders.
Students must submit a 60-second video of their best performance to the Inspire Aspen Foundation website, inspireaspenfoundation.org, by Sunday, Feb. 2, to be considered for the next round of auditions, according to Julie Garside, founder of the Inspire Aspen Foundation, a nonprofit hosting the competition alongside the Aspen School District.
“I just think it’s a great way for the youth to express themselves in a healthy way and to support them and encourage them to put themselves out there,” Garside said of the competition, which began in the thralls of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 25 to 30 students expected to audition online will be whittled down to a group of 10, most of whom will publicly perform their song of choice in the second round at Aspen High School’s Black Box Theatre from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Feb. 8. The final six contestants will move on to a public contest at the Wheeler Opera House in April, with the winners receiving studio time at Mad Dog to record their music.
The competition is open to all Roaring Fork Valley students and has seen students compete from as far as Grand Junction in its four-year existence. The foundation hosts two competitions of the sort per year: one for sixth through 12th grade students and a second for musicians 18 and over.
The winner of the student competition will get two days of recording time at the studio, equivalent to $3,500, enabling them to publish their work to online music platforms, according to Garside, who also owns Mad Dog. Second and third place also win studio sessions, but she said she strives to get all six finalists time in the studio.
Aspen High School senior Gracie Searle-Feinberg said she recorded with Mad Dog after placing second in the Aspen Rocks inaugural competition in 2022. Three years later, she is recording an album with the studio and recently performed at Belly Up Aspen.
“They are always willing to help me in my musical endeavors and uplift me in any way they can,” Searle-Feinberg said of Mad Dog. “And really make music accessible to me and my peers.”
She entered this year’s Aspen Rocks competition.
“It’ll be like a full-circle moment,” she said.
Aspen High School junior Eleanor Carroll, a finalist in last year’s competition, began recording with Mad Dog last summer after receiving an invitation from Garside and has since performed at Belly Up.
“It’s great being able to have this professional opportunity at such a young age in the valley,” Carroll said.
But beyond the potential to further youth music careers, the competition fosters camaraderie between members of the valley’s music community.
“(The students) all connect right away over this competition and program, and support each other,” Garside said. “They motivate each other.”
Two local musicians and one guest musician will judge the final competition at the Wheeler. Aspen High School sophomore Emma Scherer designed this year’s contest poster.
Donations to the Inspire Aspen Foundation can be made at inspireaspenfoundation.org or facilitated via the organization’s email, inspireaspen@gmail.com.
Skyler Stark-Ragsdale can be reached at 970-429-9152 or email him at sstark-ragsdale@aspentimes.com.
Results: Locals Ferreira, Feinberg advance as Aspen Grand Prix qualifying wraps up
The Aspen World Cup and U.S. Grand Prix continued with a second day of qualifiers on Friday at Buttermilk.
