The Rise of Wizard Rock and the Spell It Has Cast on Muggles Everywhere

 

Right around the time the second Harry Potter movie hit theaters in the U.S., music-loving muggles across the globe fell in love with a new genre of rock. Inspired by the magical universe depicted so enchantingly in the films and books, ?wizard rock? (Wrock, for short) emerged on the music scene.

Wrock bands are characterized by their humorous songs about the Harry Potter universe. They are typically written from the perspective of a particular character from the Harry Potter series, and during live performances, band members often wear costumes, dressing like certain characters or just mimicking the wizarding world?s sense of style. Though the genre originated in Massachusetts with Harry and the Potters, it has become an international sensation.

The first Harry Potter-themed song can be traced back to the year 2000 and is attributed to the Los Angeles-based pop-punk band Switchblade Kittens. The song, titled ?Ode to Harry? is sung from the perspective of the character Ginny Weasley.

Two years later, following the release of the first two wildly popular Harry Potter films, Harry and the Potters became the first band dedicated to creating music inspired entirely by the series. As they gained a steady following, other wrock bands began to emerge, including Draco and the Malfoys, The Whomping Willows, The Marauders, and Ministry of Magic.

It is with his wrock band, Ministry of Magic, that YouTube musician Luke Conard began his rising career. The band formed in 2007 by Jason Munday, Luke Conard, Ryan Seiler, and Aaron Nordyke. They released several albums and gave hundreds of performances.

Though the group members have since gone their separate ways, Conard?s star shines brighter than ever. As one of the best YouTube musicians on the web, he has built a solid fan-base as a vlogger musician, with 502,454 current subscribers to his YouTube musician channel.

Though Conard?s music career began on the indie wrock scene, he is now known for his captivating covers of pop songs and his own original pop-style pieces.

According to statistics, undiscovered and developing artists get 9.7% of all artist views on YouTube, and this certainly worked to Conard?s advantage. His success on YouTube has propelled him towards real music industry stardom.

Conard may not ever revisit his roots in the wizarding world of music, but Harry Potter fans have nothing to worry about. With the recent release of the script for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and the upcoming film Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them slated to hit theaters in November, 2016 could be a big year for the revival of Harry Potter fandom. One can only hope that this will mean the production of some new wizard rock music.
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