The Riekestra

The Riekestra is a student-run cover band, specializing in soul, dance, and rock tunes, from Stevie Wonder and The Beatles, to Maroon 5 and Bruno Mars.

The Riekestra formed at the Riekes Center in 2012, when the monthly student concerts became so popular that there were too many songs for the staff to learn on their own!

So, a small group of advanced high school music students started learning a handful of songs every month and got up on stage and backed up their fellow students. They had so much fun doing it, and they were so good, that they took the show on the road, gigging locally in the Bay Area on a regular basis. 

In early 2014, Guy Nohra (co-founder of the Barcelona expeditions) came to Aidan Young (co-founder) with a crazy idea: what if we could take the band on a summer tour to Europe? A few months (and hundreds of hours of rehearsal) later, the Riekestra was playing Beatles' songs on the beach in the French Riviera.

Since then, over 60 different band members have toured with the Riekestra, both locally and in France and Spain. They group is held together by the motto: "I got your back," and we're fiercely dedicated to doing whatever we can to support each other and make the best music every night!