Brad Confer’s life has revolved around music since his days as a music student at the University of Georgia in the mid-1990s.

Confer has played in local bands in Georgia and Florida and taught guitar and bass in various locations in Peachtree City, including a four-year stint at Music and Arts at The Avenue from 2003 to 2007.

During the end of his time at Music and Arts, at which he maintained a hectic schedule, teaching six days a week, Confer’s love of music began to wane.

“I really started to get burned out,” said Confer, a Peachtree City resident and 1994 McIntosh High School graduate. “I wanted to do something else with my life. I just had to figure out what to do.”

An idea popped into his head that he felt would benefit both him and his students — putting together a local concert that would feature the kids he was teaching.

Confer’s idea came to fruition last summer when he put together two concerts, both of which were held at XPlayground in Peachtree City.

Confer, two of his friends and 10 of his students jammed together on stage, performing such classics as Deep Purple’s “Smoke on the Water” and AC/DC’s “Hell’s Bells,” among many others. The concerts had a lasting effect on Confer; they renewed his love for music.

“I had so much fun performing on stage with the kids,” Confer said. “I was wired for the day each time. Everything turned out well. My students really liked it. The parents absolutely loved it. Basically, everyone loved it.”

The enjoyment Confer received from the concerts he planned led him to venture out on his own and run a business that would allow him to teach music without any restrictions, a problem he encountered when he wasn’t his own boss.

Confer’s dream became a reality in August last year when he opened his own business, the Stage Academy of Music, a private lesson studio in Peachtree City where people could learn how to play music and bond with fellow musicians and music lovers.

“I’m passionate about music, and I’m passionate about helping others,” Confer said. “So, it’s really a no-brainer that I would open my own studio. It was more than just my sense of independence; it was that I knew I could do more, but I would have to go out on my own. I had to create a learning environment, a place where even the walls teach.

“A combination of wanting to be able to provide the full experience of music and my desire to go my own way is why I opened the Stage.”

The Stage employs three guitar teachers, including Confer, two drum teachers, one voice teacher and one piano teacher. Confer said the Stage’s teachers teach mostly popular music — classic guitar and piano, alternative rock, etc. — to students whose ages range from 6 to 60 years old.

“They’re all amazing musicians who love music and love teaching, and it really shows,” Confer said of his teachers.

In addition to his staff, Confer said the Stage’s main attractions are four private lesson rooms; recording equipment; a stage that features a 2,000-watt PA system, lights and a fog machine; one TV that is hooked up with PlayStation 2 on which kids could play the first three versions of one of the hottest video games on the market, “Guitar Hero”; and concerts it hosts every two to three months that feature students and local talent.

“The Stage is a great place to learn how to play music, have shows and hang out with other musicians,” Confer said. “Music is more than just scales and chords. There is a music community, a whole world of interactions with other people. Kids really want to play and practice here. We even have a catch phrase: ‘The Stage is more than music; the Stage is music.’”

For more information on the Stage, please visit www.playonstage.org or call 678-372-4730.

The Stage is located at 301 Kelly Drive in Peachtree City.