Elementary students rock out: The Pop Tots live in-studio

Elementary students rock out: The Pop Tots live in-studio

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(WBEZ/Katie O'Brien)

More than 200 students have studied with the Intonation Music Workshop, an afterschool program that teaches kids about rock and pop music.

Executive director Mike Simmons hopes to bring an “all-access pass to music education” to kids in underserved communities who might not otherwise have the chance to learn a musical instrument.

One of the Intonation Music Workshop’s groups is The Pop Tots. Eight to ten-year-olds Leah Patton, Cassidy Walls, Matthew Lewis, Jada Stencer,  Emari Hanshaw and Kalen Hanshaw have been together for about three years now.

Saturday, they’ll perform at the Stars of Tomorrow Youth Fest at CICS Bucktown. But first, they stop by to show off their skills by playing two of their favorite tunes: “Elmo And I Know It” and their single, “McDonald’s.”

(WBEZ/Katie O'Brien)
(WBEZ/Katie O'Brien)