Local College Students Bring Live Music Back To Front Porches
UW-Eau Claire and CVTC college students have a new band to fan over in Clearwater
Hattie Goethals, photos by Tucker Segraves |
As crisp fall nights return, so too has another reminder back-to-school season is in full swing: college house parties. Clearwater, a new band made up of UW-Eau Claire students, has brought live music to these blowing-off-steam scenes – just in time for midterms.
The six-member ensemble debuted on a makeshift stage made of palettes on Sept. 12, bringing about 50 students together.
Since then, Clearwater – a cover band, ranging in genres from indie and pop to rock – has performed three other gigs at college houses around town, garnering larger crowds of UW-Eau Claire students and reaching even more people through social media.
UW-Eau Claire's Milana Shira (singer), a marketing student, and Nathan Williams (guitar), a marketing and music student, worked together to create the band. The duo reached out to friends and people they had previously played with, looking to grow into a true ensemble.
Not every member of the band is a Blugold; drummer Henry Troller, who's been playing since he was three years old, studies networking at the Chippewa Valley Technical College.
“Clearwater isn’t just the six of us, but it’s everyone who’s singing this in tandem with us,” Williams said.
“We keep it not only authentic to the people we’re playing for, but authentic to ourselves.”
nathan williams
lead guitar player, Clearwater
Esme Olstadt (bass guitarist), a photography and music student at UW-Eau Claire, said the band has become inseparable since their first rehearsal in September.
Even if those jam seshes begin in the late evening hours – to accommodate everyone’s busy day-to-day – the band says their individual hectic schedules don't hold them back.
“It doesn’t matter when or where,” Williams said. “We all have this mission to be the best we can.”
Already, Clearwater has gained momentum outside the Chippewa Valley. This past month alone, Clearwater has accumulated close to 2,000 followers on Instagram and racked up 53,000 views on a recent TikTok video.
Other college students and bars across Wisconsin have reached out to Clearwater, asking them to come play their scene. The band says they're open to those requests and any others that may come in.
“When it comes to the actual performances and the musicality of it, we all lean into our backgrounds, where we came from and how we can make that shine through our playing,” Williams said. “We keep it not only authentic to the people we’re playing for, but authentic to ourselves.”
Clearwater's crowd engagement is singular to that of a young band playing freely among friends and peers.
Audiences who have seen the band live more than once will recognize Williams' guitar skills (he can play the instrument backwards) and trumpet player Noah Felix's occasional breakout trumpet solos as emerging signature moves.
Felix, a biology and Spanish student at UW-Eau Claire, meshes the horn with the rest of the band's sounds – acting as the tonal guide to Clearwater's upbeat setlists.
Shira and Williams said the band generates each performance's setlist with each of band members' favorite songs in mind, while also considering the general college-aged audiences' tastes. Any given show could include well-loved his like like Amy Winehouse's “Valerie” or “Mr. Brightside” by The Killers.
At its heart, the emerging band is all about creating a lively space where anyone can sing along with them.
“We’re for the people,” Olstadt said. “We’re bringing (college bands) back.”
This article was originally published in The Spectator, UW-Eau Claire's student newspaper. It was edited and updated for publication in Volume One. To see videos and photos from previous Clearwater performances in Eau Claire, follow the band's social media page online (@theclearwaterway).
