Clock In: Why We Play

Clock In: The Kids You're Raising Money For

Bradley Beeding is 14 years old. He plays guitar. And on April 11, he'll share the Redstone Room stage with business leaders, nonprofit executives, and community heavyweights — not because he's opening the show, but because he's the reason the show exists.

Clock In is a youth band from Common Chord — the kids who benefit from the very programs Battle of the Businesses raises money for. While seven teams of adults compete to see who can rock the hardest, Clock In will remind everyone why they're competing in the first place.

And The Cultural Trust, is the backbone organization that ensures Common Chord and 6 other local arts and culture partners have the infrastructure to do this work?

They're the reason Bradley can show up at 12 with nothing but passion and leave at 14 with a band, a stage, and a future.

"It's Hard When You're Really Young"

Bradley didn't grow up with a guitar in his hand. He didn't have family connections to the music scene. He had a passion — and an uncle who told him about Kid Stock, Common Chord's summer youth music program.

"I was just 12, going on 13," Bradley says. "I was just really getting into my passion of music. My uncle told me about Kid Stock and Rock Academy. My mom signed me up. I showed up. That's it."

That's it.

No audition. No application. No barrier to entry except showing up.

This is the work Common Chord does—creating access to music education for kids who might not otherwise get the chance. And this is the work The Cultural Trust enables—connecting organizations like Common Chord to funding, infrastructure, and partnerships that make programs like Kid Stock sustainable across the region.

"It's hard when you're really young. It's hard to get your passion started," Bradley explains. "But this place and Rock Academy—it does a lot for kids that want to go pursue their dreams."

He pauses, then adds: "And that's really good."

From Kid Stock to the Redstone Room

Bradley attended Kid Stock in summer 2024, then came back for Blues Camp in December. He met bandmates Jack and Payton. They clicked. They played Weird Al covers in a band called Unusual Hour.

They haven't seen each other since January.

Until Battle of the Businesses rehearsal.

"This is going to be our first time seeing each other all in the same room again," Bradley said before their first run-through.

They sounded like they'd been playing together for years.

This is the thread Common Chord creates—from beginner programs like Kid Stock to performance opportunities at the Redstone Room. And this is the continuity The Cultural Trust ensures.

Not isolated programs.

A connected ecosystem where kids can grow from their first lesson to their first stage.

"I think this place is a really good help deciding what I want to do in life and what I want to keep going," Bradley says. "I've had so many different ideas of what I want to do."

Music gave him a path. Common Chord gave him the stage. The Cultural Trust gave him the ecosystem.

"To Know That I Played on the Same Stage..."

In February, Bradley played at the Greg Haskin Memorial Show at the Rust Belt. It was huge. They raised money for the Haskin family and for Rock Academy.

"To help get more money to pursue people's dreams," he says, "it's just a good feeling."

On April 11, he'll do it again — this time at Battle of the Businesses, alongside some of the most impactful community leaders.

"To know that I played on the same stage as a lot of those people that I look up to…"

He doesn't finish the sentence. He doesn't need to.

That's the entire story right there.

Common Chord creates the stages. The Cultural Trust ensures those stages stay lit. Battle of the Businesses funds the programs that put kids like Bradley on them.

And here's the beautiful tension: Bradley is both beneficiary and peer. He's the kid who got access because of events like Battle — and now he's the musician sharing the stage with the people who made it possible.

"This Is My Home"

Bradley has traveled with his family. Minnesota. Wisconsin. Ohio this past year to visit the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. North Carolina is on the calendar for this summer.

He's seen other cities. He knows what they have — and what they don't.

"This is my home," Bradley says. "I want to do anything to support it. To know that in my own home, I can go and pursue my dreams, I can go play live at countless places — it's a good feeling."

The Quad Cities is smaller than the Twin Cities. Smaller than a lot of places Bradley has visited. But it has something those cities don't: organizations like Common Chord that make music education accessible to kids who might not otherwise get the chance, and infrastructure like The Cultural Trust that ensures those organizations can do that work sustainably.

The Cultural Trust doesn't run the programs—they connect the dots. They ensure that Common Chord has the funding, partnerships, and infrastructure to keep stages open, keep programs running, keep kids like Bradley moving from Kid Stock to the Redstone Room.

That's what Bradley feels when he talks about having "countless places" to play in his own home. That's the ecosystem at work.

The Loop Closes

Here's what happens at Battle of the Businesses:

Eight teams of business leaders perform. They compete. They fundraise. The crowd votes with their dollars. A winner is crowned.

And Clock In — Bradley, Jack, Payton, and the rest of Common Chord’s the youth bands — reminds everyone what it's all for.

Because Bradley didn't start with advantages. He started with passion and an uncle who told him about a program. He showed up at 12. He kept showing up. And now, at 14, he's good enough to share the stage with the people who made it possible.

That's the entire point.

Battle of the Businesses isn't about which team can play "Sweet Child O' Mine" the cleanest. It's about creating more Bradleys. More kids who show up at 12 with nothing but passion and leave at 14 with a band, a stage, and a future.

The Cultural Trust creates the infrastructure that makes organizations like Common Chord sustainable. Common Chord creates the programs that give kids like Bradley access. Battle of the Businesses funds those programs. And Clock In? They're the proof that it works.

"It's nice to have people that want to really make their dreams come true," Bradley says quietly.

Common Chord makes those dreams accessible. The Cultural Trust makes those programs sustainable. And Bradley makes it real.

This is why we play — because Culture Matters Here, and it always will.

Eight companies. Eight stories. One stage. All supporting Common Chord.

Battle of the Businesses | April 11 | Redstone Room | Tickets: SOLD OUT!

If you would still like to donate towards the music education and opportunities Battle of the Businesses provides, you can do so by clicking the button below.