West Music Staff Blogs

By Jonathan Turner, jturner@qconline.com

Josh Turner of Bettendorf, who studies with drummer Luke Hull at West Music in Moline, will be among 57 student musicians who will play with their teachers Sunday at West's fifth annual Parking Lot Jam.

Josh Turner is a country-music star, one of the youngest members of the Grand Ole Opry. Alex Turner is lead guitarist and singer for the rock band Arctic Monkeys.

So it's only natural that my own boys – also Josh and Alex – are musicians, like me. Whether they achieve their namesakes' kind of success doesn't matter. What's important is that they enjoy music, and one of the best ways is learning an instrument.

West Music in Moline lives to give area kids an outlet for plugging in that artistic passion. This Sunday's fifth annual Parking Lot Jam lets students show their skills in bands that include their teachers.

Josh, 9, loves to play drums, and he will display his chops in "Bulls on Parade" by Rage Against the Machine. Through the expertise of his wonderfully enthusiastic teacher, drummer Luke Hull, this will be Josh's second Jam in the lot behind the store at 4305 44th Ave.

This free family-friendly outdoor concert will be at 3 p.m. Sunday, hosted by CJ the DJ from www.nobudgettv.com.

To read more, visit the QC Times Online Dispatch-Argus.

Jonathan Turner writes about the arts for The Dispatch and The Rock Island Argus. Contact him at jturner@qconline.com.