Maroon Sunrize, a band started by a trio of local high schoolers earlier this year, performed at the Lynnfield Fall Festival this past weekend.
Earlier this year they also played Masco’s Battle of the Bands and Wakefield’s Movies by the Lake. They also played at the Lynnfield High School Coffeehouse in June, a recurring event run by the Music Department to showcase student music.
At the Fall Festival, Maroon Sunrise played for longer than they ever have before, about 90 minutes, which is up from their 45 minute set at Movie by the Lake. They even received their first tip at the festival.
Shahaan Zaheer, the band’s frontman and guitarist, said, “This kid came up to us with a $5 bill. It was the most shocking thing because we weren’t even expecting this. We would have never in a million years expected a tip because this is a fundraiser show, you know, it’s supposed to be free.”
The band is made up of three high school students from Lynnfield: Shahaan, Nick De Gennaro, and Andrei Peña. Shahaan is in the St. John’s Prep class of 2027. Nick, the bassist, is in the Lynnfield High School (LHS) class of 2026. Finally there is Andrei, the drummer, in LHS’s class of 2028.
The bandmates met over the past few years. Shahaan and Andrei met at the Russian School of Mathematics and reconnected more recently when they realized they were both from Lynnfield. They started jamming together, and Shahaan convinced Andrei to learn the drums on a drumset Shahaan’s older brother left behind.
Nick joined the band later, first as a fill-in drummer when Andrei was on vacation. When Shahaan learned he also played the base, Nick was cemented as a full-time member of Maroon Sunrize.
The band is influenced by both classic-rock legends and modern-popular music, intending to blend the classic with the modern to create a sound that appeals to a wide range of people. They describe their sound as “rock music that like, you know, has a good groove to it; you can dance to it.”
Individually they, of course, all have their own favorites and influences as well. Shahaan mentioned Chuck Berry and the Beach Boys as big influences. Nick is partial to Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd. Andrei’s biggest influence is Peruvian rock, in particular Pedro Suárez-Vértiz.
Outside of their music the group have a mix of academic and athletic interests. Shahaan is on both the math and robotics teams as well as his school’s Model United Nations. Andrei plays clarinet in the LHS concert band, and also runs track and cross country. Nick is a captain of the LHS swim and cross country teams, writes his own music, and plays the drums.
Maroon Sunrize plans to record their new song “Vile Girl” as a single later this year. Shahaan said, “Hopefully before October ends. We want it out.”
