Bluegrass in Blue Ridge: WCU students, alumni start Upstream Rebellion band
Upstream Rebellion
By Cam Adams
Andrew Bivens strums the strings on his guitar, looking for the right sound in Blue Ridge Hall. He tunes his instrument to find it, sliding his fingers across its neck as he jams out with five of his best friends.
Bivens first picked up the guitar at 15, enjoying playing classic rock songs by legends like Led Zeppelin or The Eagles. But country music? He didn鈥檛 care for it. He remembers his dad sliding in bluegrass CDs into his car radio driving down the road, much to Bivens鈥� displeasure.
Yet here he is, as a 甜瓜视频app senior, listening to a quintet of banjos, mandolins and bass around him as he picks his guitar in a similar tone. He鈥檚 playing the very bluegrass that sounded dreadful to his ears as a child.
Bivens is part of a bluegrass band called Upstream Rebellion, composed of him, Cooper Franklin, Jared Wills, Max Rogers, Adam Winebarger and Walker Ballance 鈥� all of which are either WCU students or alumni and five are or were in the College of Engineering.
In just one year of the band鈥檚 founding, it鈥檚 exploded in popularity. While playing shows in Western North Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee, Upstream Rebellion has attracted over 47,000 followers on TikTok and close to 24,000 on Instagram.
"It's a little breathtaking,鈥� Franklin said. 鈥淭o see people enjoy you doing something that you enjoy doing, it's pretty cool. Just sort of bringing that joy to other people is my thing. Watching other people's faces light up. I feel like that's a way a lot of the world connects is through music.鈥�
Though WCU is the epicenter for the band鈥檚 formation, for some in it, it actually goes back much further than their college days. Ballance and Rogers were cousins, their grandparents were friends with Franklin鈥檚 grandparents, so naturally, they were the best of buddies.
They started playing the guitar around the same time as each other during their early teenage years.
鈥淲e would just go to each other鈥檚 houses and pick a little bit, just have fun with it,鈥� Franklin said. 鈥淲e鈥檇 play with their granddaddy a whole lot. He鈥檚 a real big inspiration to us three, (especially Ballance and Rogers).鈥�
When all three got to WCU, they would play together in Blue Ridge and, soon, started inviting folks they met from class. Franklin met Bivens and invited him over to play his banjo. Bivens then met Wills, the band鈥檚 bass player, in class and invited him, and then Rogers met Winebarger, who did the same.
Soon enough, all six were jamming out together, and with a competition approaching, they decided to form the band.
鈥淎ll of us were pretty much friends before the band started. There were some of us that kind of didn't know the others as well or vice versa,鈥� said Bivens, a mechanical engineering major from Rutherford County. 鈥淪ince then, we're all best friends. It's like anything that I do outside of the band or school is probably going to be with one of them, so we spend a lot of time together.鈥�
So far, Upstream Rebellion has released four original songs: Lost, Thunder Road, Sleepy Town and its most popular, Lonesome Wind, which has over 85,000 streams on Spotify. Oh, and its most popular video on TikTok?
鈥淚t was just like a stupid little thing, and it got like 1.7 million views,鈥� Bivens said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 weird. It seems the videos we make, the less work we put into them, the better they do.鈥�
What began as a band looking to win a competition has become increasingly popular in the world of bluegrass. So much so that Upstream Rebellion is coming out with its first album in December.
鈥淚'd love for us to be a hit,鈥� said Franklin, who graduated in 2024 with a degree in engineering technology. 鈥淢e having a full-time job, that's going to be tough, and I would love to quit my job and do music one day, but I am really, really happy with how far we have gotten already.鈥�
Upstream Rebellion has gotten just a bit further recently, playing at the very place they came together: WCU. The band played during Family Weekend Sept. 19 and is set to play again Saturday, Sept. 27 during Mountain Heritage Days.
While Upstream Rebellion鈥檚 streams are going up, the friendships made are worth more than any fortune they could make.
鈥淚 would have to say it's a lot of fun,鈥� Franklin said of being in a band with his best friends. 鈥淚t makes traveling a lot of fun. It makes hanging out a lot of fun. It makes practices seem a little less like work. It makes gigs seem like less work.
鈥淚've got to say, those five are probably my best friends, and it's really special to me that I get to share a lot of that with them.鈥�
