51 Acts to Compete in This Year's High School Rock Off

Set to kick off this coming Saturday at the Rock Hall, the 22nd Annual Tri-C High School Rock Off will feature 51 acts (214 band members and six solo acts). The musicians represent 84 schools and five states (Ohio, Kentucky, Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania).

Four preliminary rounds on sequential Saturdays precede a “Final Exam” that takes place on Saturday, Feb. 17.

This year, high school seniors participating in the Rock Off can apply for three PNC scholarships to study in the Creative Arts Program. Among those entered in the Rock Off, 75 students are eligible to apply for the Tri-C scholarships, which will be worth up to $2,000 each.

“There is so much young talent in Northeast Ohio and beyond that deserves to be recognized,” says Paul Clark, PNC regional president of Cleveland, in a press release. “These scholarships will help a few of those students hone their talents and learn valuable insights for wherever those talents may take them.”

“These scholarships will help create an unparalleled opportunity for Tri-C to help students who have competed in the Rock Off to jumpstart their careers in music performance, marketing, promotion and recording technology,” says David Kennedy, director of Tri-C’s Recording Arts and Technology program. “We help focus their passion and provide training, degrees and job opportunities. Rock Off alumni work in the music industry, in recording studios, in concert halls and arenas, on tour, in equipment manufacturing, in broadcasting, in marketing and promotion, at the Rock Hall, at the House of Blues, and with Live Nation. The partnership gives Tri-C students the opportunity to connect with artists and professionals in many meaningful and productive ways.”

Rock Hall CEO and president Greg Harris calls the event “an incredible opportunity to showcase the talent of all these young artists.”

In the first four rounds, each act will play a 15-minute set. A panel of judges will select the top three bands to move on to “The Final Exam.” All finalists will record one original song at Tri-C’s Gill and Tommy LiPuma Center for Creative Arts with Jim Stewart Recording and students from Tri-C’s Recording Arts and program.

Doors open at 6 p.m. and performances begin at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are available at rockhall.com/rockoff.