Show business. Dazzling fame, adoring fans, abundant money. America’s common perception is, if a young person desires to break into the fields of music, acting, or performing as a career, he or she is going to need some serious connections, and that is just the way it is. Success is supposedly that impossible.

On Friday, Lincoln students learned otherwise.

Hundreds of Lincoln performing arts students who packed into the Black Box Theater during 4th period on Friday were encouraged to follow their own aspirations by putting in hard work and taking chances through an inspirational workshop with Derik Nelson, singer, songwriter, recording artist of six full-length albums, and the guitarist of FOX’s “GLEE,” as well as his band and tour team.

Nelson was in town to perform a live fundraising concert in Lincoln’s Black Box Theater on Saturday night, November 23, happening as part of his “Take Chances Tour” of thirty West Coast public high schools to raise money for the schools’ music and arts programs. Audience members bought either “blue,” “silver,” or “gold” tickets to the full-scale, full band, pop-rock concert, with proceeds donated to Lincoln’s own programs. A video about the tour can be accessed HERE.

Before the concert, Nelson and his team took an hour out of their busy schedules to come to Lincoln and speak with students. Five stools were perched at center stage, and students surrounded the speakers by sitting “in the round,” filling not only every chair, but also every last corner of the actual stage and of the theater.

Nelson began the workshop by sharing a quote with the students gathered: “You are more likely to be struck by lightning than make it in the music business.” After this shocking revelation, Nelson and his team, Brian Hargrove, Dalten Nelson, Riana Nelson, Jack Kovacs, and Kristen Gleeson-Prata, posed three questions: “What is your definition of success? What is your goal? And what does it mean to take chances?”

Each team member took a couple minutes to share a personal story with students about how they had “taken a chance” in their lives, ranging from dropping out of college and moving to Los Angeles, to taking a strange job in China. During the hour, they inspired students through the example of their own successes in the music business. They imparted valuable wisdom about hard work, open-mindedness, how to go about achieving a dream, and what to study in order to do so. At the end of the assembly and into lunch time, they answered questions and chatted with interested students.

Giovanna Echivarre, Class of ’16, commented about the assembly, “I liked how he explained that there isn’t just one option for students… Instead of just focusing on guitar, he studied how to apply himself and actually get out into the music business.”

Nelson of course took a moment out of the workshop to break out the acoustic guitar and circle the theater playing a “campfire version” cover of Michael Jackson’s “The Way You Make Me Feel,” giving students a taste of his music and what they would see if they came out to Saturday night’s concert.

Needless to say, students were pretty psyched to see a “GLEE” star make his grand appearance at their humble old high school.