During late 2024, TikTok gave new life to “garage bands” and turned them into a trend, inspiring people to create their own with their own friends. One of those bands is Prior Lake’s own, Stellify.
Stellify began this way. They are an indie rock cover band who, after their first official gig at the 2025 PLHS Surf and Turf, have gained even more recognition.
Stellify has five members, all from Prior Lake High School. The band was first created by three juniors: Genevieve Raas, (drums), Claire Downer (keyboard), and Anastasia Stanton (guitar). They later recruited two seniors: Aubrie Sutherland (bass guitar) and Rowan Steiner (guitar).
“I really liked playing music, and I like hanging out with my friends,” Genevieve said. “I’ve always wanted to be in one of those alt little teen rock bands in the movies, so I was like, ‘hell, let me try this out.’”
It all started off with the trio of juniors playing percussion instruments in the school bandroom. They would play for fun after school and make covers of popular songs such as “Love” by Wave to Earth. Then they met Aubrie and Rowan, and they combined to create a bona fide rock band.
Aubrie said, “We all sucked at our instruments and wanted to get better. We were like, ‘Okay well I guess it’s motivating if we all play together.’ So we figured we’d improve if we made a band, and we did.”
Stellify successfully started their band and posted their first video on their official TikTok account, and it gained traction. They were also able to book many gigs using the connections from many of the friends that they have, as well as just venues reaching out to them. However, success always comes with a few issues.
“Sometimes things don’t work out in a band,” Genevieve said. “It’s just hard to put things together, but it always ends up working out in some way.”
“Our main problem is communication,” Aubrie said. “I had experience beyond what the others had, so I ended up becoming sort of a leader, booking us for more than we could handle, and that was a problem. Otherwise, we function pretty decently, I’d like to believe.”
Most of the support the band receives comes from their advisor, Mr. Brian Perry. He’s an art teacher and the advisor of the Rock Band Club. He acts as a consultant for the group and gives advice whenever it’s needed.
“As a band that was really genuinely just kind of figuring out instruments not long ago, they’re already booking fun shows at decent venues,” Mr. Perry said. “I think the sky’s the limit for them. I believe in them.”
Lately, the band has been starting to think about their future. Instead of playing songs written by other artists, Stellify is developing their own sound to play on their own.
“Me, Stasia, and Evie have worked on it a little bit. I’m comfortable with improv-ing, and Stasia’s beginning to be comfortable with improv-ing, but we’ve been writing lyrics for a while. But yeah, I think we’re totally prepared for it. I just think we haven’t done it,” Aubrie said.
As they continue to improve, their popularity is also increasing. In fact, their next gig is at the Amsterdam Bar and Hall in St. Paul on Friday, March 20th. Doors open at 5:30 and music begins at 6 PM.
