Moapa Valley Progress
How many retweets would it take for an up and coming R&B musician to come perform at Moapa Valley High School? The answer is apparently zero.
That is the question one Moapa Valley High School student posed to R&B artist Mitchell Brown, better known under his stage name ‘Kid Quill’ over a message via the social media platform, Twitter.
MVHS junior, Gannon Hanevold initially sent the question to one of his favorite musicians not expecting a response, but Brown was more than willing to do what he could to come out to Moapa Valley and put on a concert for his locally growing fan base.
As Hanevold began conversing with the artist and his management, optimism that the concert could really happen started to grow. What initially seemed like a longshot slowly turned into a real possibility.
Hanevold presented the idea to fellow Moapa Valley High School student council members and fans of Kid Quill: Morgan Aikele and Chase LaCroix. MVHS Student Council advisor Donna Swanson suggested they bring the idea to school administration, who helped point the students in the direction of the local Moapa Valley Arts Council.
Aikele and Hanevold put together a presentation for the Moapa Valley Arts Council, who welcomed the idea of a fresh face performing in the valley. As the Arts Council agreed to get on board and sponsor the event, the next step was picking a date and getting the word out.
As Swanson handled contacting Brown and his manager about details, her student advocates settled on an available date for him to perform. With Moapa Valley’s annual Prom scheduled for Saturday, May 5, they decided to invite the musician to perform on the evening of May 4 as a way to kick start an exciting weekend.
While admission prices and a venue are among the details yet to be settled on, advertising for the event has begun and excitement is growing among the student population at MVHS. While the event does not have a sponsorship from the school itself, those organizing the event hope for Moapa Valley students to show up in great numbers.
So, who is Kid Quill? He’s an R&B musician who mixes in genres like hip-hop and pop into his music, too.
While his stage name is Kid Quill, Mitchell Quilleon Brown was initially just a typical high schooler in Shelbyville, Indiana, when he received an opportunity to play soccer and study at DePauw University. He juggled music, sports, and school before deciding to commit to his passion for music. Some of his more popular songs have amassed over two million plays on the music streaming network Spotify, and his social media accounts boast followers in the tens of thousands.
Brown has performed for events like the NCAA Final Four in Indianapolis and is currently on a North American tour as an opener for fellow musician, SoMo. However, some of his proudest work is courtesy of concerts put on for non-profit organization Best Buddies International.
Best Buddies, a charity group that creates opportunities for those with intellectual and developmental disabilities, has welcomed back Brown for multiple concerts over many years. This, along with his cooperation and willingness to play a completely clean setlist for a predominantly high school crowd stood among some of the best reasons for him to come.
Morgan Aikele, one of his biggest early advocates, said, “It’s so great to know that as students we can pull off an event like this! But even better than that is the support that the arts council and even Kid Quill himself showed us. People are so willing to help if we just put in our best efforts.”
Donna Swanson, who continues to contact the artist and his management, also showed praise for the event taking place.
“It brings us diversity in music answering to interests from a younger crowd as well as exposing Moapa Valley to a small town artist who is seeing his dreams come true in the music world,”
Throughout her conversations with the artist’s management, Kid Quill has expressed perhaps an equal amount of excitement to come to Moapa Valley as students are to welcome him. He has taken notice of local fans reaching out to him over social media and looks forward to putting on a concert for the valley.
Chase LaCroix, also among the top supporters of the event in its early developments, listens to Brown’s music for the mood it conveys. “He’s uplifting and fun and people naturally enjoy his music,” LaCroix said. “It’ll be a lot of fun for the people in the valley but it will really show high school students that we can make big things happen.”
Kid Quill’s performance in Moapa Valley should stand as one of the more unique opportunities for local youth to attend an exciting event, and for the Moapa Valley Arts Council to perhaps welcome a diverse crowd of people attending.
