(Spencer)– The Iowa Rock ‘n Roll Music Association and Spencer Community Theatre are teaming up for a youth music workshop and community concert later this month. Jill Barr is a member of the Iowa Rock ‘n Roll Music Association Board of Directors. She tells KUOO news it’s being made possible through some funding they received…
“We are a recipient of a grant from the Clay County Community Foundation to help with quality of life and we are bringing an educational workshop for area youth and then having a community concert in the evening and that showcases not only the great facility at Spencer Community Theatre but also the talent that we have here with Iowa Rock ‘n Roll Music Association Hall of Fame inductees and also professional musicians.”
She says one of those professionals they’ll be bringing in is guitarist Kirk “Skinny” Webb…
“He’s got over 40 years of performing and being on the road and in the studio. He is amazing. He’s also recorded and collaborated with a couple of different artists over the years including Los Lobos, Black Oak Arkansas, and others. He’s done over 50 albums and he’s a wonderful person. So he’s going to be a wealth of knowledge and experience to share with those at the workshop but also in the evening it’s going to be a joy to listen to him.”
Barr says Jack Davis, a singer-songwriter from Malvern, Iowa, will also be helping out…
“At the beginning of his career he was one of the winners of the 2025 Iowa Rocks Talent contest for youth, and he has just gone on to do some amazing things. Both a singer and song writer. He’s working on an album, and so I think it would be, what we thought is that it would be a great experience for our youth to hear from somebody who’s a peer, somebody that’s their own age, kind of forging their way into music. And so he’ll get his lense on his experience with music. And then we have Tyler Lowe who is a sound and production engineer. He has Sun Rock, AVL Productions and he’s the Event/Operations Manager at the Orpheum Theatre in Sioux City. He brings a wealth of knowledge as well to because people may love music but they might not want to be the ones on stage. So there’s still ways to be involved in the music industry without having to be on the stage and sound tech and engineering is a great way to do that.”
The workshop will be held during the day on July 18th, with the community concert at 7:00 pm that evening at Spencer Community Theatre. Tickets are $20 each in advance or $25 the day of show and are available at the SCT Box Office. Barr says a portion of the proceeds f will go toward the Iowa Rock’s Scholarship Fund.
