While Whitman musicians played onstage at “Talent Showpocalypse” March 24, Pyle seventh-grader Andrew Gonzales rocked at a gig of his own: the 100th annual National Cherry Blossom Festival.

Gonzales sang with his progressive rock band, Tunnel, for an audience of hundreds at the free Family Days festival in the National Building Museum. Family Days annually kicks off the National Cherry Blossom Festival with a wide variety of live performances and hands-on Japanese art activities. This year, Tunnel played alongside nine other dance and music groups, performing two original songs and a cover of “Walk” by the Foo Fighters.

“It was more fun than anything,” Gonzales said. “We performed once there in 2010, and it was a lot scarier, but I guess I was used to the bigger crowd this year, so I just had a great time.”

Tunnel formed in 2009, when three boys trying to create a band noticed Gonzales’ singing ability while he played “Guitar Hero” at a birthday party. They asked Gonzales to join as the group’s lead singer, and even though he didn’t have much prior singing experience, he attended his first practice the next week.

“If I’d known it was going to carry on this long, I would’ve tried to give the band a better name,” Gonzales joked.

Progressive rock is marked by its long, complex musical structures and thematic subject matter. Tunnel members draw inspiration from other bands like Dream Theater and Led Zeppelin when writing their original songs.

Gonzales and the other members of Tunnel—a lead guitarist, a bass guitarist and a drummer—all train at Bach 2 Rock, a Bethesda music school that creates and coaches bands of many different genres. The school also provides bands with opportunities to play at concerts and “Battles of the Bands” that take place twice a year at the 9:30 Club in D.C.

“Tunnel is a fantastic band,” band instructor Nayan Bhula said. “Andrew is a great vocalist, and he’s really diligent and into the writing. Playing at the Cherry Blossom festival was a very positive experience for them.”

Tunnel has undergone significant changes since its inception. The other original members left in recent years due to a bad conflict and a family move, leaving Gonzales to learn guitar and find new band mates. But the band has recovered and is still going strong, he said.

Family Days is the largest venue at which Gonzales has ever performed, he said, but he wants to continue his success in coming years.

“I got to watch this year’s talent show, and it was amazing.” Gonzales said. “When I get to Whitman, I definitely want to perform there.”