Santa Rosa teen organizes music event fundraising for homelessness in Sonoma County

Thirteen-year-old Gus Miller is an inventor at heart.

He once built a Go-Kart from scratch. Another time he made a motorized banana slicer. When he was 7, he designed his favorite team’s soccer jerseys using white T-shirts and fabric markers and mailed them the shirts.

Without fail, Miller is creating yet another thing.

In November 2021, Miller’s history teacher at Spring Lake Middle School suggested volunteering opportunities for a community service assignment for their “Doing Democracy” program. The program calls on eighth graders to do something that will benefit the community, like volunteering at food banks or raising money for a cause.

However, Miller decided he’d do his own thing.

After researching and reaching out to local organizations, now the teen is throwing a music event that’ll feature four local indie and punk rock bands at the Phoenix Theater. The all-ages performance in Petaluma on Friday will raise money for the Living Room, a nonprofit organization that supports women and their children experiencing homelessness or who are at risk for homelessness in Sonoma County.

“I wanted to do something that would truly impact the community,” Miller said. “It’s a cool opportunity for me to have this kind of responsibility and pressure. It’s so surreal.”

Miller said his teacher and school principal even offered to help with organizing the event, but he insisted on tackling it on his own.

“I always try to do my own thing and go out of the guidelines of what the school wants me to do,” Miller said. “I try to take things more seriously and do the best that I can.”

Miller’s idea first sparked in November 2021 while he was attending a show his older brother Oliver, a guitarist and singer, was performing at the Phoenix Theater. It was inside the theater that Miller realized he wanted to organize a music event that would raise money for an important cause.

An idea coming to life

Miller is known among his family members as the kid who rushes into his parents’ room late at night to tell them excitedly about his latest wacky idea or invention. So when he laid out his concert idea to his parents, they weren’t surprised.

“He’s the guy that comes into our room late at night and says, ‘I need duct tape, plywood and a cutting knife,’” his dad Gus Miller said, laughing. “We thought (the concert) was just another idea. We pointed him in the right direction, but then he took over from there.”

“In Gus’ eyes, nothing is out of reach. Anything is possible,” his dad added.

Learning in school about the causes of homelessness in Sonoma County and ways to help got Gus thinking about the kind of cause he wanted to support.

In December, Miller reached out to three local organizations that help alleviate homelessness in Sonoma County. Most didn’t respond or rejected his pitch completely with doubts that a 13-year-old was capable of making the event happen, he said.

Weeks later, he heard about The Living Room in Santa Rosa and decided to call them. They loved his idea.

Miller searched for local acts online with the help of his older brother Oliver and his friend Ben’s suggestions for local bands to contact. He messaged them on Instagram, inviting them to be a part of the event. Eventually, he secured four bands and booked them at the Phoenix Theater.

Lately, Miller is busy designing posters to post online and at Spring Lake Middle School with help of his friends, Riley and Cielo, who are posting signs around their school and asking teachers to promote the event around the district.

“He has a lot of heart,” said Nick Simmons, Gus’ piano teacher and founder of Play it Forward Music Foundation, who gave Gus helpful advice throughout the process. “He’s a smart and passionate guy, and he’s using his skills to do good work in the community. These are the kinds of things that bring me hope for the future.”

A creative mind

In the Miller family’s house, art and creation is a hot topic. And Gus is often deep into making a new invention, with paint splattered on the floor and tools laying around. He’s made an old record player into a remote-controlled lazy susan and made a frisbee with a handmade slingshot.

“Some of things I make don’t always work; some break and some have caught on fire. Luckily, I haven’t burnt the house down,” the teen said with a laugh. “I love making things and I love being creative.”

He’s one of a family of creators. His brother Oliver is a guitarist and singer in a local band called O.K.; his dad is a movie producer, writer and actor; and his mom is an interior designer.

Gus’ vision of creating an event and raising money for a good cause all on his own has come together.

“When he told me he wanted to do this, I thought, ‘Oh boy, here we go,’” his mom, Melanie Miller, said. “I’m proud of him but not at all surprised. He’s determined and always has been.”

“It’s been scary knowing that I’m the one who started all of this,” Gus said of the upcoming event.

On that day, he’ll be at the Phoenix, running around helping bands load up their instruments, ensuring ticket sales run smoothly and emceeing the event.

“I pray that everything works according to plan and everything works out well. People had their doubts, but I’m excited to see it all happen and come together.”

You can reach Staff Writer Mya Constantino at mya.constantino@pressdemocrat.com. @searchingformya on Twitter.