Outbreak

New alternative rock band Outbreak introduces very young but very talented musicians excited to share their new music.

This young Burlington band is made up of uniquely talented individuals who have remarkable passion and skills, even as teenagers. Outbreak consists of Sarah Campbell Mills, vocals and guitar, Lucas Redwood, drums, Caroline Cummings, vocals and keys, Quinlan McHardy, bass, and Lucas Varga, keys and lead guitar.

Although members have performed in other bands (in fact McHardy currently performs in five bands), this group came together last fall when Redwood started an open jam at his school, Nelson High School.

"I started a jam where a bunch of people from Nelson could play different instruments and choose different songs to play for fun," explained Redwood. "I pulled together the best people (from it), the more committed people and told them I was interested in starting a band on our own time."

Varga and Redwood previously worked together as lifeguards, when they discovered their mutual love of, and desire to play, rock music; but, in adding the others, a new level of melody was introduced.

"The three guys were into rock and Sarah and I like soft rock," noted Cummings. "Alternative rock is better for female vocalists so we found a happy medium in the end."

Late last year, the band quickly recorded new material to apply for the Sound of Music Festival, including its original song Two Plus Two, written by Campbell Mills.

"I've been writing songs for a while," said Campbell Mills, who was previously in a band 4 Brown Eyes before performing solo, mainly at charity events. " Two Plus Two is a political song which you can hear in the lyrics. In reference to a quote from 1984 (novel by George Orwell), it's about how facts don't matter. The truth doesn't matter, it's what people tell you. It was inspired by what was going on in the U.S. with the elections."

Now the members will work together to create the band's new music.

"I took previously written songs and adapted them to the band," added Campbell Mills. "But now we're planning on creating our own songs collectively as a band. We don't want to box ourselves into one lane; we're still young and still want to adapt our own style. We really don't want to confine ourselves with all the different styles and roots we come from."

Now, Outbreak plans to share its music with the local community by focusing on shows and recordings. - Kathyrn Dunmore