Two local bands, comprised mainly of high school students, have won a spot to play at the Pilgrimage Music & Cultural Festival, a two-day festival taking place this weekend in Franklin, TN.
Pilgrimage Festival partnered with Williamson County Schools’ Entrepreneurship & Innovation Center (EIC), to host the two finalists in its Battle of the Bands this past Saturday with the winner receiving a prized slot on the main stage of the festival.
The bands, Superlocrian and Outpost, faced off in an epic showdown with Pilgrimage festival judges Megan Wilson, Brandt Wood and Adam Gelfond ultimately deciding that both bands would perform during the festival. They will appear on the Midnight Sun main stage this Sunday at 12:15 p.m.
“These two bands blew us away and will be a great addition to our jam-packed lineup,” said Megan Wilson, Pilgrimage marketing director. “Working with the EIC was a wonderful experience. The EIC team knows how to challenge their students and carefully curate their abilities to create magical moments and invaluable lessons that these students will take into future opportunities.”
Both bands consist primarily of current high school students from Williamson County and surrounding areas.
Superlocrian
Joseph Benedict – Stewarts Creek High
Giovanni Williams – Stewarts Creek High
Parker Foley – Stewarts Creek High
Alyssa Nicholson – Brentwood High
Kyle Harkins – Ravenwood High
Luke Mercado – Overton High
Cianon Reed – Page High (grad)
Andrew Yarbrough – Homeschool in Williamson County
Outpost
Kingston Pharr – Nolensville High
Luis (Luigi) Parades – Ravenwood High
Bo Capistrant – Stewarts Creek High
Colby Whetstone – West York Area High (grad)
EIC students developed the idea for the unique project, according to Jeremy Qualls, EIC executive director, which allowed them to build valuable skills in marketing, logistics, event planning and more. Watching the students’ vision for the event come to life was “remarkable,” according to Qualls.
“These students will be able to take what they learned and apply it to their own businesses they are trying to create,” he said. “The Pilgrimage Festival not only adds value to Franklin and Williamson County, but it also offers our students a valuable academic experience that cannot be duplicated anywhere else.”
In addition to the band contest, students attending the showdown were challenged to wear their best festival fashion. Demi Thu Nguyen was crowned the winner of the WillCo-chella fashion contest. Additionally, Kensie Kleine won a custom Pilgrimage branded Gibson acoustic guitar.
Pilgrimage will be held this coming weekend at the Park at Harlinsdale Farm, located at 239 Franklin Rd in Franklin. The festival features 50-plus acts across five stages with Chris Stapleton, Brandi Carlile, Jon Batiste, The Avett Brothers, Lake Street Drive and Elle King as headliners. Two day and single day tickets are available at www.pilgrimagefestival.com.
