He throws the strap over his shoulder and adjusts it snuggly. Brushing his calloused fingers over the strings, he prepares before the sea of students. The musician scans the crowd, taking it all in. Abruptly, he propels into the bass chords, cascading a strong vibration throughout the room. This is Thomas Dowler’s first time performing before a live audience. Nerves overwhelm him as he waits for the performance to officially begin. He exchanges looks with his classmates he shares the stage with; they’re ready. The song begins, and Dowler plays the chords that he has been practicing with shaking hands. He is in a class entitled “Pop Rock Ensemble,” and their final project is to perform live at Varnish, a club in downtown Wilmington.
“This isn’t too bad,” he thinks to himself. He continues playing, and his anxieties ease with each chord he strikes on his guitar. This is something he could get used to.
About two years following his debut performance, Dowler joined a Wilmington based band called “Local Noise” and is their bass player. They have been playing and performing together for nearly six months and have already grown tremendously in the local music scene. However, they are not the only local band that Wilmington has come to know.
Local bands have been quickly growing in the city of Wilmington. They perform at local venues where their audiences consist of predominantly college students. Most of these musical acts are made up of current and former students as well. Students ages 18 to 22 are completely enthralled by the music scene in Wilmington.
According to a survey recently conducted via Google Forms, 84.2% of Wilmington college students have personally seen a local band perform. Out of these students, 48.6% say that they go out to see local bands on a weekly or monthly basis.
Why is it that local bands are so popular amongst college students in this area? What is the impact of local music on college age people?
According to Beatriz Ilari, a USC Thornton associate professor of music education, “Music might be an activity to help students develop skills and competencies, work out their emotions, engage in identity work and strengthen connections to the school and community.”
College students generally feel stressed and overworked, so listening to live music could be their way of coping or escaping from reality. Many studies have been conducted to prove the impact of music on mood and overall well-being. A systematic review and two meta-analyses were conducted by Martina de Witte and collaborators on the effects of music interventions on stress-related outcomes. The results are as follows:
“Specific physiological effects of music included reductions on heart rate, blood pressure and stress-related hormones. Specific psychological outcomes included reductions in state anxiety, nervousness, restlessness and feelings of worry.”
It is no wonder that college students are so drawn to local music. Whether students realize it or not, music eases stress and anxiety.
University of North Carolina Wilmington senior, Abigail Hamm, agrees with this analysis. “I go to see local bands any chance I get,” she says. “I feel like it’s my way of unwinding after a long week of school and stress. It is a fun and mindless activity that makes me feel at ease. I know that when I go see a band, that I will leave feeling more relaxed.”
Elliot Stanford, lead singer in the local band “Ridgewood” says that he wants his audience to walk away feeling this way. He describes that after a long week of mixed emotions, he wants his audiences to feel refreshed after watching them perform. He says that performing is cathartic for himself, so he hopes his audience shares in that experience.
Dowler describes how the atmosphere is better when watching a local band perform. This change in environment could be explained by the reduction of stress, or it could also be rooted in the community built by a group of people listening to music they enjoy. Students of all ages are constantly searching for a sense of belonging, and in this case, musical performances could be where people feel the most like they belong.
Friendship and community are what Dowler deems as the most significant personal gains of performing locally. He describes how he has met people who he would not have met without the ties of music.
“People I didn’t know at all have come out and seen our shows,” he says with a wide grin. “They come up to us after and tell us it was great, and sometimes we get to hang out with them after.”
According to “How Music Bonds Us Together,” “Listening to music and singing together has been shown in several studies to directly impact neuro-chemicals in the brain, many of which play a role in closeness and connection.” Music chemically creates a bond between individuals; therefore, allowing people to form these friendships rooted in music. “The Power of Music” states, “Research has even found that listening to music can trigger the release of oxytocin, the ‘love hormone’ that helps us in developing empathy, trust and compassion for others.”
College students are in a kind of limbo between childhood and adulthood, so it is easy to struggle to find a sense of belonging. At UNCW, students and bands have utilized the massive effect that music has on creating a community to combat this trend. It may be a subconscious activity for these students, but nonetheless, they are forming strong bonds with their peers through their love of music.
UNCW senior, Magen Legg, describes how she met one of her closest friends after an interaction at a performance by the local band, “Beach Tub.” “I went up to Harrison [Beach Tub guitarist] after their show to tell him how amazing they were, and we hit it off immediately! I think a lot of it had to do with how much we both enjoyed music and the atmosphere of a concert like that one.”
UNCW students have shown our community the true power that music can have on a group of people. Listening to live music can be used as an escape from reality and a way of relieving stress and anxiety. College students have so much on their plate in their day-to-day lives. They must go to their classes, manage their living space, study for exams, complete assignments, maintain a social life and some work full-time on top of all of this. That is a lot for one person to handle, let alone a person who is just beginning to dip their toes into the real world. Wilmington is lucky to have so many local bands for students to choose from. There is no limit to when or where students can take a load off.
He throws the strap over his shoulder and adjusts it snuggly. Brushing his calloused fingers over the strings, he prepares before the sea of students. The musician scans the crowd, taking it all in. Abruptly, he propels into the guitar chords sending a strong vibration throughout the backyard. Dowler has performed live for an audience many times before, but this must be the largest crowd yet. An overwhelming amount of excitement fills him, leaving him eager for the performance to officially begin. He exchanges looks with his bandmates he shares the stage with; they’re ready. The song begins, and Dowler confidently plays the chords that he has been practicing. He and his band, “Local Noise,” are playing at a UNCW fraternity day party on St. Patrick’s Day weekend.
“This is awesome,” he thinks to himself. He continues playing, and his excitement radiates through the backyard with each chord he strikes on his guitar. This is something he could do forever.
