High school bands, when thought of, are often thought about as the students in high school making a band together. However, to Mr. Thomas Scott and Mr. Christopher Looney, being a ‘high school band’ entails having a band with high school teachers in it. Scott and Looney, along with two of their friends, have a bluegrass band named “Karma Creak.” The band has also recently put out their first EP which includes six tracks and even has an original song on it.
Surprisingly enough, Scott and Looney did not have that much of an interest in bluegrass music when growing up. “I played mandolin for a long time, and while mandolin is a very traditional bluegrass instrument, it just wasn’t my interest. I was playing folk music and that kind of stuff,” Looney explained. However, as they got older, they started to appreciate bluegrass music more. Before the band, Scott and Looney would play Christmas songs together during the winter holidays. This friendship and their mutual interest in bluegrass music helped to spark their idea to create a band.
On January 20, 2025, Karma Creak met at the Barns of Rose Hill in Berryville and recorded their first EP. “We did all six songs in a four-hour stretch…The acoustics are so nice that we had trouble knowing to what extent we sounded good or not,” Scott described. The band recorded all of their songs together as a band, instead of separately and mixing the instruments together, which is more common nowadays. They also ordered and made CDs of their EP, even though at first Scott thought it was a little unnecessary. But because of this decision, many Woodgrove students have physical copies of this EP even if they do not even have a CD player.
Purcellville has had a large number of local festivals and community gatherings over the years. Currently, it is not too uncommon to see Karma Creak performing there. With the production of the EP and their increasing popularity in the community, they are performing at more and more places around the community. Also due to the recent EP drop, Woodgrove students are starting to become more aware of the Karma Creak band and bluegrass music. Sophomore Gracie Vosburgh, who knows Scott through Creative Writing Club, has listened to the EP and has a CD of her own even though she did not have an interest in bluegrass music before. Vosburgh shared, “The EP was really good country music. I’m not typically someone who likes country music and the instrumentals really complement his voice.”
With the new Karma Creak EP helping them to get more opportunities to play at festivals as a band, their popularity looks like it will continue to grow. The best thing that Woodgrove can do for these two teachers and their band is to support them and their friendship as they follow their passions.