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After Memorial Day weekend, most students are anticipating vacations and a summer free of class. One school in town, however, is still preparing for a rather late, rather loud final exam.
This Thursday, the students of the new Roxford University will play their debut show at Proud Larry’s. Located on Mimosa Drive off of South Lamar, Roxford University aims to shake up the traditional format of music lessons. This show serves as the culmination of a semester of classes that focus not only on individual lessons, but also rehearsals in a band format.
“It’s not an idea that we necessarily invented, because there are similar schools around the country,” explains Tad Wilkes, who has headed the “school” since its inception at the beginning of April. “But [we] thought that it was something that would really get a good response in Oxford, so they approached me to be the band leader and manager.”
Wilkes (who performs locally under the name Moon Pie Curtis) is only one of several Oxford musicians lending their talents to the school.
Other Professors include guitarist Eric Deaton (who has played alongside hill country legends R.L. Burnside and Junior Kimbrough), Patrick McClary (guitarist in such bands as Daybreakdown and The Minor Adjustments), drummer Kenny Graeber (of Mustache: The Band), and Newt Rayburn of The Cooters and Hawgwash, who Wilkes says will be performing on bass with some of the bands on Thursday.
The school’s three bands (The Wingits, The Mannish Boys, and The Rainbow Rockers) are sorted by the age and skill level of the students. Members range from seven to sixteen years old. Each band will consist of several different lineups—for example, one band may have several guitar players that “sub” in and out during a show, much like positions on a sports team.
“We see a lot of kids who’ve had lessons before but have kind of lost interest,” says Wilkes. “I think being in the band kind of takes that boredom out of it, where you’re not just practicing in a vacuum. It’s like being on a football team now, there’s accountability.”
“There’s also camaraderie. It’s fun being in a band!”
Roxford University does offer individual lessons, if students prefer not to be in the band. Wilkes estimates, however, that roughly 75% of students opt to join their peers onstage.
As for the music itself, Wilkes says that the setlist will feature “really well-known songs” that serve as a good foundation for kids just starting to play with other musicians.
“As much as we’d love to teach these kids some really obscure favorites, we want their friends and family who come to say, ‘oh yeah, I know how that song is supposed to sound!’ We mostly pick out the songs ourselves, but for inst)ance, with our teenage kids, we let them have some input.”
“I think people may be the most impressed with the youngest kids, just to see what they’re able to do. They have a smaller role in the show than the older kids, but I’ve been impressed with it.”
And just because summer’s here doesn’t mean that the music’s over; Roxford U offers summer classes that follow a camp model instead of a regular weekly commitment. Wilkes says that they are offering three intermediate camps that are two weeks each, “so if they’re in town for two straight weeks, they can do it.” They also offer an accelerated one-week camp.
Adults are welcome in on the fun, as well, with an adult camp that meets once a week for two months. In the fall, they’ll return to their semester-long format, culminating in another show in December. The dates for the camps are available at their website, www.roxu.org.
The debut performance on the Proud Larry’s stage will be at 6pm on Thursday, May 28. 
This article was printed in The Local Voice #230 (published May 28, 2015).
To download the PDF of this issue, click here.
