The ChokeCherries, whose name is inspired by North Dakota’s state fruit, the chokecherry, get ready to rock before a performance at Washington Elementary School in Minot. The band includes, left to right, Aletheia Bloom, Anna Kerzmann, Ackenna Hoffman and Jovie Rafferty.
Children dance below the stage at the Washington Elementary School in Minot, skipping in circles and clapping wildly after every song while their parents watch from the sidelines.
On stage, four high schoolers in sequin hair stickers and star freckles, play songs new and old for their audience, from Chappell Roan’s viral hit “Pink Pony Club” to classic tunes from times before.
The ChokeCherries – a rock and cover band based in Minot – started in a basement, just like many great bands. Also like many great bands, pizza, friendship and a love for music fuel their fire.
Jovie Rafferty plays guitar, Aletheia Bloom plays bass, Anna Kerzmann plays drums and Ackenna Hoffman sings. Rafferty, Bloom and Kerzmann met each other through Minot High School’s jazz band and Hoffman became known as a singer in seventh grade following a video of her singing Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas is You.”
More than a year ago, Jovie approached her dad, Tom Rafferty, member services and communications manager at Verendrye Electric Cooperative, and asked if the girls’ new band could practice in his basement.
“I said, ‘Absolutely yes,’” Tom says. He and his wife long joked someday they’d clear out the living room for a band.
“It was kind of a family joke, and now it’s actually happening,” he says. Tom loves hosting the band and often orders the girls pizza, drives them to gigs and even owns a shirt that says, “Roadie Dad.”
None of them expected their basement hobby to go anywhere.
“I think all of us just kind of thought it was going to be something silly and fun that was just going to stay in Jovie’s basement,” Hoffman says. However, that changed after their first show – a backyard concert for family and friends at the Rafferty house. The girls realized they had started something special.
Since the band formed in May 2025, they’ve moved from basement to backyard to a garage, and played more than a dozen gigs in schools and bars while building a following on social media.
“From where we started last May compared to now, it’s very surreal,” Hoffman says.
More than music
Elementary schools have quickly become one of the band’s favorite places to play. Kids line up for autographs after the show, making The ChokeCherries see these performances as a chance to show a young audience a different side of music.
“I feel like music has such a stigma now that if you’re in band, if you’re in choir, you are a nerd,” Hoffman says. “I think us doing this really shows them that that’s not true at all.” The band, she adds, also shows children music doesn’t need to stay in the classroom and, maybe most importantly, it’s fun.
The message reaches the kids, too. After one of their shows, a young student came up to Kerzmann and said they wanted to be just like her when they grow up.
The band’s message extends past elementary students. High school can be a hard place to be yourself, as it’s often easier to blend into a crowd than to stand on the stage.
Hoffman used to hide the fact she was in choir, afraid of getting teased. Now, she takes pride in the courage it takes to perform.
“A lot of people don’t realize the amount of bravery and energy it takes to actually get up and do it in front of people,” she says. “So, when anybody has anything negative to say about it, I just say, ‘You wouldn’t be up here doing this.’”
Bloom jokes ordering her own Subway sandwich makes her nervous. But get her on stage with her bass guitar and she becomes another person. She says playing gives her an outlet to just be herself.
“I am kind of a reserved person, kind of shy, but when I am playing music I just want to dance,” Bloom says.
From the songs they choose to the outfits they wear, every part of The ChokeCherries show is a chance for each girl to express herself. Even the band’s logo, which Kerzmann designed, shows each of their unique personalities. Four chokecherries, each with its own unique expression, are paired with each bandmate’s initials. On stage, they wear sparkling cherry gems in their hair and faces to match.
The bond
While music may have brought the girls together, it is the camaraderie – and maybe the pizza – that keeps them coming back to the basement. With countless hours poured into practicing their music, the girls have grown incredibly close. Jovie says before the girls even pick up their guitars to practice, they spend an hour simply catching up.
According to Hoffman, it is special to be able to go to someone when you have an off day or when something exciting happens, and these girls give each other that place.
“You always have an outlet and somebody who’s going to be there to support you,” she says. “I just love these guys.”
Tom has watched the friendships grow firsthand.
“Some of these girls didn’t really know each other that well. They’re like best friends now and they’ve got a really good bond, and it’s just nice to see them flourish and grow and improve,” he says.
For The ChokeCherries, performing or practicing isn’t stressful. It isn’t a chore. It’s simple. They get to play music together, with friends.
Everything else that’s come with it is just the chokecherry on top.
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Kennedy DeLap writes and photographs for North Dakota Living. She can be reached at kdelap@ndarec.com.
