Two years ago, senior Addison Giglione played on a side stage at Lollapalooza in Chicago, one of the largest music festivals in the world, as a member of the School of Rock “AllStars” band.

“We played ‘So Lonely’ by the Police and ‘Dance to the Music’ by Sly and the Family Stone,” Giglione said. “We had artist passes and got to talk to some artists, like Bedabodobee, and even got to see Sabrina Carpenter backstage before she became huge.”

Her father, school board member Pete Giglione, was among the many people who watched the performance. For him, it was an indescribable moment.

“It’s hard to describe the feeling of seeing your daughter on stage at a music festival of that magnitude,” Giglione said.

Performing in rock bands runs in the family. While Addison Giglione is a part of the School of Rock program playing the drums and bass, her sister, freshman Paige Giglione, sings in bands through the program. And their dad is in two bands of his own.

School of Rock is a performance-based music program that has several separate performance groups within it. Musicians are cast into a specific group, and at the end of the season, they get to play a show or a series of shows with their group.

Addison Giglione is in the regional “Performance” and “House Band” groups, which play many kinds of music but focus on classic and hard rock. During the summer, she plays in the international “AllStars” band, which plays classic rock covers. Their tour that included the Lollapalooza gig had six other stops, including playing at City Winery in Nashville.

Giglione has been playing the drums since fifth grade, and she took inspiration from her family members.

“My dad was a drummer, so I started because he played. So did my grandpa and my uncle, so I just kind of took on their hobby, and then I kind of made it my own because I enjoyed it,” Giglione said.

Pete Giglione had Addison start with the violin, an instrument her mom, Kristy, played for years.

“She hated it and asked to take drum lessons when she was in fourth grade, and she took to it immediately,” Pete Giglione said. “By the time she was in fifth grade, she was playing rock music on stage. To this day, she’ll practice for hours, almost daily.”

Addison Giglione is also a part of her own band that writes its own music. Formed two years ago with three friends who are now in college, Salad Business plays throughout the Pittsburgh area and has a single named “Meadow” on Apple Music, Spotify, and YouTube.

“I wanted to make my own band because through School of Rock, I got to play a lot of shows, and I love playing shows and playing in front of people,” Giglione said. “It’s really fun, so I wanted to have that experience outside School of Rock where I’m writing my own songs.”

Her bands have helped her meet a variety of people in the music industry.

“Our song has allowed me to meet people who have the same interest in my area. I’ve met people who work in the studio at my friend’s college, and I’ve met people in other bands, which allows you to get more shows,” Giglione said. “We had a School of Rock drum workshop with Frank Zummo from Sum 41, so I got to have an experience working with him.”

Olivia Moore, the general manager of School of Rock’s South Hills location, has been impressed with Addison’s ability to face challenges.

“She never turns down an opportunity to learn something new and works hard until her song assignment is perfected. Because she has never turned down a challenge and has a great work ethic, Addison is able to confidently play any genre of music or style of playing you throw at her,” Moore said. “The most recent challenge we’ve handed her is learning ‘Raining Blood’ by Slayer on drums for the House Band program, and she is doing an incredible job.”

Her sister, freshman Paige Giglione, meanwhile, sings in her “Performance” and “House Band” groups. She began singing when she was 11 and is now 15. Her biggest inspiration to start singing was her sister.

“I started because my sister was there, and I wanted to kind of be like her, but also, I liked singing a lot,” Giglione said.

Her dad remembers the first time he heard Paige sing.

“I saw her sing for the first time in front of a crowd of around 100 at the Thunderbird Café in Lawrenceville, and I was stunned, as she never sang around me or her mom before that. When she sang the first notes of ‘Zombie’ by The Cranberries, I was speechless,” Giglione said. “I had no idea that she had that powerful of a voice.”

Paige is a skilled artist, Moore said.

“I’m impressed with her vocal skills and how hard she works each week on song assignments and improving as much as she can,” Moore said. “Some of my favorite songs she has sung in the House Band program are ‘Cochise’ by Audioslave, ‘Lay It On The Line’ by Triumph, and most recently, ‘Me And Your Mama’ by Childish Gambino.”

Sophomore Shea Moyers is in School of Rock as well, playing bass in the “Performance” group. She has known Paige Giglione for two years and has been in various groups with her.

“I like talking (with Paige) before performances,” she said. “I also like playing the music together with her singing, and I’m playing bass.”

Paige agreed.

“We go on tour every summer with the whole band and stuff, and it’s just a lot of fun bonding with everyone,” she said. “We’ve gone for seven days normally, and it’s just fun touring with other School of Rocks and seeing how everyone else works.”

Some places Paige Giglione toured last summer include Tennessee, Kentucky, Cincinnati, New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and all over Pennsylvania.

Their father, Pete, meanwhile is mainly a bassist, though he decided to start playing the drums in high school.

“I played drums in the pit orchestra and filled in at gigs when bands needed a drummer. I played bass in the jazz band and concert band,” he said. “In high school and college, I was also the bassist in a band with several of my friends called Entropy, where we wrote all of our own songs and played at local clubs and parties.”

Pete Giglione plays bass in his two current bands, Haus Band and Echo After 9.

Haus Band is a cover band with other dads in the Baldwin-Whitehall School District that plays music from the Doobie Brothers, Counting Crows, Dave Matthews Band, The Dirty Heads, and Beastie Boys. Echo After 9 writes its own material in styles that include hard rock, prog, and some pop-punk.

Addison and Paige both show off amazing qualities during rehearsal, Moore said.

“They both always come into rehearsals with a positive attitude and are open to learning and trying new things on their respective instruments,” she said. “Both students are mentors and a helping hand to our younger or lesser experienced students, always making them feel welcomed in the school, as well as volunteering to help with our weekly Rock 101 rehearsals and Summer Camps.”

Paige Giglione plans to play until she ages outside of the program range, at 18. While Addison Giglione plans to go into the medical field, she plans to continue playing.

“I plan to keep it as a side hobby as I plan to try to enter into the medical field, but I’ll always keep music in my life,” Giglione said. “If I’m lucky when I’m older, I’ll be in a band on the side.”

This story was originally published on Purbalite on April 8, 2025.