10th Anniversary of Sunburst!

Alex Stanton • May 5, 2021

It was May 2011 when I first signed the lease of a tiny basement room in Squirrel Hill to teach guitar out of. It's been a crazy fun journey, and for me personally, the privilege of my life to work with so many amazingly kind, passionate, and creative students, teachers, family members, and administrators. I felt that a fun way to celebrate - and to tell the tale of Sunburst - would be a little trip down memory lane through pictures. This will be the first of two installments covering our whole history. From when we had one room, one teacher, and no students to our 15 room studio, over 20 teachers, and nearly 500 students.

If you have any photos or stories you'd like to share from over the years, we'd love to hear them and include them! Send 'em over via social media, the contact page, or the comments below!

–Alex

Founder & Director

And now, we begin with the great flood of '011...

Sunburst opened in May 2011 across the street, the first space was destroyed in a flood 3 weeks later :)
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From our first ever photo shoot, with Rauhit, the first Sunburst student. Still needed to paint!
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We were Sunburst Guitar Instruction until 2014
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A look inside our second space and Sunburst's home from 2011-2014
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This Les Paul is still kicking around the studio, I washed dishes to buy it as a 15 year old.
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Hi tech tear off flyers, maybe a little heavy on the western font.
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Open for business.
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Darian was one of the first generation of Sunburst students and learned with us for 5 years!
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Me (Alex), Ben, and Mikey were the whole staff for the first 3 years.
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Our second photoshoot with Nina, Shane, Shane's in college... Woah.
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Beni with his first and longest running bass student.
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Nina now rules on uke, guitar, bass and vocals
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The first Sunburst Recital at Flagstaff in August 2011.
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Mikey taking charge at our 2nd ever recital at the Union Project in Highland Park
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Rauhit rocking a D with some nice thumb muting.
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Mikey and Reese on stage.
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in 2013 we started working on our plan to build the current studio, our 3rd location on the same block.
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Earliest sketch I could find of the studio... What's an egress?
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Our home from 2014 - today.
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Sketch of double wall and floating floor construction for the soundproof rooms.
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This sketchup I think is shockingly accurate in retrospect.
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Did I mention the studio used to be a hair salon? It came with these sweet foot baths
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This is looking from the desk to what's now the stage.
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looking into rooms 1 & 3
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We did our own demo, fulfilling a life long dream of smashing an abandoned hair salon.
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Some temporary wall art with engineering prints. Should've saved these!
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While the studio was being built on one side, we were allowed to setup temporarily in the abandoned hair salon for our first ever camp.
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Looking to where the front door is now.
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Room 3

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Trying to be good neighbors we plugged up all of the holes under the drum rooms.
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Our first camp, we called it "guitar camp"
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The first generation of "Sunburst Rocks" students, including 2020 house band drummer Finn.
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1st season of "SBR"
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Stage Lights: Check!
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The studio is ready! OK so the stage doesn't quite fit everyone, big deal, let's rock!
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Some student made art we got to display for the grand opening.
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The practice room as a green room before the first show.
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Our first drum teacher Jonathan putting some finishing touches on the recording setup.
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Matt brought us this sandwich, thanks Matt!
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Ernie helping out the campers in our camp, "Rocking out for those who haven't rocked out much before"
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Some of our first campers ready to take on anything music related.

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as am I
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as is mikey
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This keeps happening! Kiki, Mikey and Ernie got the memo.
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Well, thanks for coming along for Part 1. That's our history from 2011 to about 2015 when we started to get comfortable in our new space. Check back for Part 2 where we meet new friends, demolish a law office, and make a guitar out of floppy disks...

See you then!

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5 Reasons to Start Playing in a Band

July 30, 2025

As summer break comes to a close, we’re gearing up for the next term of the Sunburst Band Program and would love to see some new faces this fall. Playing in a band is one of the best ways to progress as a musician, so we put together a list of five reasons why we encourage our students to seek out opportunities to play in groups—whether it's starting a band or jamming with a couple of friends. Progress Your rhythm, timing, and listening skills improve quickly when you start playing in a band or group setting. While private lessons and solo practice are essential pieces of the puzzle, playing with others introduces new variables—like tempo changes, dynamics, and coordination—that challenge you to stay in sync with your bandmates and adapt to each other. We’ve seen so many students level up after just a couple months in the Sunburst Band Program–the progress happens fast! Friends and Connections We love watching our students and their families become friends and our band program has been a natural starting point for many of those relationships. Some of our current bands have stayed together for years, and it's awesome to see them hang out outside of lessons and support each other at shows. Plus, one of the best ways to get gigs is through connections with other musicians! Motivation Playing in a band is super motivating because you're part of a group working toward an exciting shared goal. Whether you're learning a new song, building a set list, or getting ready for a show, the process becomes more exciting and rewarding when you're making music you love with people you enjoy being around. That shared energy turns practice into something much more fun and meaningful. Performing Performing can be nerve-wracking, but it gets easier the more you do it, and being on stage with your friends makes it less scary. We love seeing how our students' stage presence and confidence grow with each performance—it’s one of our favorite parts of being teachers! As we mentioned, shows are a great place to make connections with musicians who you’d like to collaborate with in the future. Simply put, playing more shows leads to playing more shows. Creative Outlet Music is a powerful tool for expression, and it’s important to have outlets for that at any age! Life is very fast paced for many of us, and it can be tough to pause and do the things you enjoy. Band practice can be a consistent anchor in your week—something you can rely on for connection, processing, and creating with your bandmates. As corny as it sounds, playing music is good for your spirit! If you’d like to know more about the Sunburst Band Program, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us for more information. We also recommend talking with your private lessons instructor so that they’re aware and can help you prepare.