A group of talented students from Bellwood-Antis have turned their shared love for music into a band that’s ready to take the community by storm. 

One day in January 2025, Julien Beaver and Anthony Berardi, two seniors at Bellwood-Antis High School, made a plan. 

“I found out Julien was learning guitar. After that, I heartily encouraged him to get serious about it. I came over and we jammed out for a bit. It became a regular thing and one day, we decided we wanted more people so we could start a band,” Berardi said. 

The start-up of their band, however, was not without complications. They needed supplies, connections, and more members. Finding the right people to fit with their group was difficult, but eventually, they made it work.

Beaver has taken up the role of lead guitarist, while Berardi plays the drums. Noah Cokrlic is on the rhythm guitar and Addison Sparrow is on the bass guitar.  

When asked about the process of putting their band together, Beaver said, “We’re looking at people we know since it’s easier to communicate with those you’re familiar with. But it’s a difficult process because Bellwood is a small town with not many people to choose from.” 

They were inspired by bands such as Greenday, Blink-182, Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance, and others. These bands are the reason they decided to play punk and pop-punk music. Their name was even inspired by some of these groups. 

“We named our group Running With Ruby. Having the noun Ruby within our name opens the door to having an iconic theme and writing concept tracks about a made-up character,” Beaver said. 

So remember the name Running With Ruby because they’re planning to take over the music scene here in Bellwood.