Blue Ridge Juvenile Detention Center
Since the fall of 2018, The Front Porch staff has visited Blue Ridge Juvenile Detention twice each week to meet with high school residents interested in playing music. At the program’s inception, we curated a modest supply of music equipment and donated instruments. Since then, the program has morphed a number of times based on student interest, sometimes taking the form of a garage band rehearsal, a karaoke bar, and most recently a hip hop studio. Students are required to maintain good behavioral standing in order to participate in the class. Staff members often stop into the music club to listen to resident recordings, hear the kids’ latest project, show off some of their own skills, and even learn something new.
