If you’ve attended Rock in the Park the past four years and are thinking about skipping it this year: Think again.

This time, the 5th annual event is shaping up to be something different. That’s because there’s a band that has been working its mojo for so many months beforehand. This band is part of a new CEESA activity for students in high school called The CEESA Rock Band Festival. This year the team traveled to Zagreb and performed the songs:

• “Cherub Rock” by the Smashing Pumpkins 
• “Paranoid Android” by Radiohead 
• “Rock and Roll” by Led Zeppelin

They were so good that Secondary students got to see them play these tunes again in an assembly for students the following week at AISB.

CEESA Rock Band

CEESA Rock Band is a new CCA this year, and is the first CEESA popular music activity for AISB students. The program gave opportunities to collaborate as a band on songs they chose as a group and spent their time rehearsing. Then, in April, students participated in a festival in Zagreb, where they were able to perform onstage with other international school students in a real music club in downtown Zagreb and stand out in a new way.

When asked how many rock bands had participated this year, Murray explained: “We had one band that had participated in the first CEESA Rock Band Festival in Zagreb, Croatia. We would have liked to have had more bands, but CEESA only allows one band per school and a maximum of seven students.”

Our school’s band was made up of seven talented students from Grades 9 to 11, each bringing unique musical skills to the stage: 

• Grade 9 Azra A. (vocals, bass, and keyboards)   
• Grade 9 Luna D. (vocals, bass, and guitar) 
• Grade 9 Brendan O. (guitar)
• Grade 10 Matei H. (vocals and keyboard)
• Grade 11 Matei R. (drums)
• Grade 11 Eliya T. (guitar and percussion)
• Grade 11 Demir Y. (keyboards and percussion)

Students got to meet with other students their age interested in popular music, got to jam with other students in a special “open mic” nights, learn from professional musicians, perform in a real music club, and experience a little bit of Croatian culture. Next year, AISB will be sending students to the Festival which will be held in Prague. AISB will also send a band to The Association for Music in International School’s (AMIS) Rock Band Festival in Budapest.

Highlights of 2025’s Upcoming Rock in the Park

When reached for comment, Rock in the Park head organizer Courtney McDonald says that a highlight this year is “the variety of student performances from grade 5 through 12. The students have been practicing non-stop for the past few months and there are going to be 45 acts this year (and counting)!” 

And if music still isn’t your thing, there’s always the food. McDonald adds that “the number of food trucks keeps growing every year. This year, we’re expecting over 10 trucks.”

Grade 9 Journalism student Hyunwoo S. contributed reporting.