Teaching
When home, Justin serves as General Manager and Music Director for the School of Rock Chapel Hill. Having started as an instructor for voice, bass, and drums in Fall 2018, Justin was promoted to Music Director a year later. He now teaches one-on-one lessons, in person and online, for voice, bass, drums, guitar, keys, and ukulele, but also leads band rehearsals and designs presentations, summer camps, and student curricula. Justin also helps to interview and onboard new staff, and helps secure performance opportunities for the School of Rock Chapel Hill House Band, an audition-only group of middle and high-school students who get real-world gigging experience. In summer 2020, Justin also began leading the school’s new Songwriting Program, teaching middle and high school students how to write and perform songs of their own. Justin was promoted to General Manager of SORCH in May 2022.
Some of these aforementioned performance opportunities include 2018 performances at the North Carolina State Fair, Carrboro Music Festival, the Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival, and appearances at some of the best rooms in the state, including the Cat’s Cradle, The Station, Local 506, The Blue Note Grill, Motorco Music Hall, and the Pittsboro Roadhouse. The SORCH house band also goes on a national tour each summer, and Justin has toured with them as far north as upstate New York and as far west as Seattle.
Concert themes that Justin has directed for SORCH include the Best of The Beatles, the Best of David Bowie, the Best of The Who, the Best of 2000’s Indie Rock, the Best of Green Day, the Best of Nirvana, Radiohead Vs. Muse, the Best of the Beach Boys, the Best of Aretha Franklin, the Best of Tom Petty, the Best of The Clash, the Best of The Cars, the Best of The Doors, the Best of U2, the Best of Reggae, the Best of REM, the Best of Peter Gabriel, the Best of ABBA, the Best of Motley Crue vs. Def Leppard, the Best of Steely Dan, the Best of Sting & The Police, the Best of Michael Jackson vs. Prince, and full-album performances of Led Zeppelin’s III and IV, Pink Floyd’s ‘Dark Side Of The Moon”, Radiohead’s “OK Computer” and “In Rainbows”, Fleetwood Mac’s “Rumours”, and The Beatles’ White Album. He has also designed and presented discussions on guitar pedals, songwriting, home recording, gear maintenance, and rock history. Justin also teaches freelance and talks on local music industry panels when his schedule allows.
Booking
After years independently booking shows and tours for his bands Clockwork Kids and The Color Exchange and working for Local 506, Cat’s Cradle, Motorco Music Hall, Yep Roc Records and Redeye Distribution, Justin decided to try his hand at show promotion. This led to a partnership with seasoned Triangle musician and venue owner Mark Connor - pooling their collective resources and knowledge of the live music industry to launch To Be Heard Booking in March 2017.
Under the To Be Heard moniker, Justin has booked entire tours for Slow Teeth, Happy Abandon, Easter Island, and Waldo Witt / Table Tennis Dreamer, and has booked shows for Al Riggs, Flash Car, and Ravary from London to New York City, Amsterdam to Los Angeles, the Triangle and beyond. Other NC and regional acts To Be Heard has put shows together for include Grand Vapids, Wild Fur, SE Ward, Fluorescence, Minor Poet, The Veldt, Stevie, Lacy Jags, Coco Amino, Rafael Green, Deau Eyes, and many more.
These days, To Be Heard still books tours and local shows with a primary focus on helping to provide out-of-town bands with quality shows in the Triangle, pairing them with a venue and local support that makes the most sense for the band’s stage in their journey. This comes from a desire to foster community and exposing bands to some of the best underground music scenes in the country, with specific focus on bands hailing from the Triangle, Richmond, Athens/Atlanta, Denver, and more.
To Be Heard has also presented two launch parties and four official Hopscotch Music Festival Day Parties. For the 2019 festival, they partnered up with Tiger Bomb Promo, Bedlam Vodka, Polychromatic Records, and the Wicked WItch in Raleigh, NC, to present a mix of bands from the Triangle and Georgia music scenes in a fun showcase environment. To Be Heard has also had sponsorship and co-presenting partnerships with Deep South Entertainment, Trophy Brewing & Pizza, White Street Brewing, the Local Band Local Beer concert series, and other organizations. To Be Heard most recently partnered up with Tiger Bomb Promo and Dear Life Records to present a pair of Day Parties for the 2022 Hopscotch Music Festival, at Kings (sponsored by Ponysaurus Brewing) and the new Transfer Co. Ballroom. To Be Heard and Tiger Bomb collaborated on another Day Party for the 2023 edition of the festival.
In addition, starting in 2022, Justin took over as Music Festival Coordinator for the 25th Carrboro Music Festival. After three years off from an in-person version of the festival, Justin and the rest of the Carrboro Music Festival Committee pushed for significant changes to the festival, including a proper lineup poster, payment for the bands while keeping the festival free for attendees, and less bands and stages to elevate the overall quality. Justin continued this role in 2023.
