Aspen High School’s cultural carnival was an event to remember, especially because it was the debut of the Folk Group, a group comprised of AHS students who love to sing and play instruments. The group is not a school club though; it was created by Sarah Stevens, a musician in the valley, who is also the creator of the A cappella club.

“So far we haven’t been able to perform as much as we want to…the cultural carnival was basically our first performance! We’re planning some more coming up,” sophomore member Julia Foran said.

The group is made up of seven students, all hand-picked by Sarah Stevens. The students include Talitha Jones, Julia Foran, Ben and Anna Belinski, Harriet Pryor, Emery Major, and Lyon Hamill. The students of all ages get together once a week at Steven’s house for a student run rehearsal, meaning they choose what folk songs and arrangements to practice.

“We are obviously called the Folk Group because we play folk music, but as a group we usually play whatever we feel would be cool for the group,” sophomore Talitha Jones said.

Part of what makes their music fall under the category of folk is the instruments they play. Anna and Emery play guitar, Lyon and Ben are on the drums, Talitha plays the ukulele, Harriet is violin and Julia plays the viola.

“We all sing, and when every aspect of our group mixes, the different voices and instruments, magic happens,” Foran said.

They are all ready to keep getting out there and performing, they even have a gig coming up on March 17th for the Irish Poetry Night in Aspen at Victoria’s. Though their goals do not stop there. Each member is planning on continuing this group throughout their high school careers, improving with each passing day.

“I want the Folk Group to be something that our school is known for. I want us to make a name for ourselves in our school,” Jones said.

While they are all determined to reach this goal, everyone is just happy to be spending time with their friends, enjoying and playing great music.

“I love getting to spend time with people who share the same love of music as I do, we have created a safe environment where we can create and experiment in a healthy and educational way,” Foran said. “Everything we do together as a group helps each one of us individually grow so much as a musician.”