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Come see both bands at Battle of the Bands, Saturday, October 24, at the Normandy Fall Festival.
Real bands. Real music. Real performances. Fun first.
Meet the director
Meet the director
Kevin Auwarter, Founder and Program Director
I've been playing music my whole life. I started with accordion lessons as a kid (yes, really), switched to drums in the '80s playing hard rock, and picked up guitar at 16 so I could sing and accompany myself.
By my early twenties I was playing in working bands and doing singer-songwriter gigs. Eventually I joined a Celtic rock band that played all over Western New York and into Canada: colleges, festivals, pubs and private events. We wrote our own music and recorded an album.
Playing in bands has been one of the most important parts of my life. There's nothing like the moment when it all clicks and you're not just playing notes anymore, you're making something together.
Why I started it
Why I started it
I kept meeting kids and parents who thought there was a huge wall in front of music: years of lessons before you get to enjoy it. And I watched a lot of kids burn out on the lesson-practice-repeat cycle. It turns into work, and the interest fades.
Music doesn't have to work that way. Kids don't practice basketball alone for years before joining a team. They join the team, learn together, and play real games from the start. Music can be the same.
That's The Chord Collective. Real bands. Real music. Real performances. Fun first.
Where we rehearse
Where we rehearse
Our rehearsal room is at Normandy Presbyterian Church, 108 Center St., Normandy, TN 37360. We're grateful to the church for giving our bands a home.
In The News
In The News
Manchester Times — Chord Collective striking a collective chord · August 6, 2026
Thunder Radio — Kevin and Lily talk about The Chord Collective on Thunder News & Grooves
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