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Below please find some information about the upcoming concert series benefiting the West Boylston Arts Foundation.
Leon A. Gaumond Jr.
Town Administrator
June 9, 2010: The West Boylston Arts Foundation, Inc. (WBAF), a non-profit charitable organization, presents the ARTS ROCK! Summer Concerts to be held on Saturday nights of June 26, July 10, July 17, and August 28 at the West Boylston High School football field at Goodale Park. The concerts are fundraisers to ensure arts and music education are not reduced due to school budget challenges.
On June 26, Christine Galante will kick off the series opening for Boston-based indie rock band Mission Hill. Christine Galante is singer/songwriter and junior at West Boylston High School. Her soulful lyrics and tunes have captured the emotions and experiences of adolescence with youthful poignancy. Mission Hill mixes provoking songwriting, catchy hooks, moody vocals, an energetic live show, and strong musicianship with an unerring commitment to their unique sound. Their single “Save Me From Me” is receiving airplay all over the country, and the band has received several awards including “Top Local Band to Watch in 2010” by Boston Music Spotlight. They have recently returned from a Hard Rock Café residency gig in Saigon, Vietnam, and will be opening for Bon Jovi
and Kid Rock at Gillette Stadium on July 24.
On July 10, teen punk rock quartet, Time Slips Daily, opens for another Boston-based band, Varsity Drag. Consisting of four WBHS students: Tyler Supernor, Nick Perham, Joshua Carison, and Ryan Binette, Time Slips Daily skillfully performs at a level that belies their ages. Varsity Drag, fronted by Ben Deily, one of the co-founders of alternative rock legends, Lemonheads, brings his new band to play fast, breakaway rock that he describes as “rooted in the pre-grunge pop punk and ‘alternative’ (back when there was such a thing) music of our collective youth, and hurled with cheerful defiance at the new millennium”.
On July17, ska rockers Ruckus will set the stage for classic ‘80s-‘90s rockers Powerplay. Ruckus, an eight-piece band of Holden youths, blend the sounds of saxophone, guitars and cowbells with a dose of break dancing to get the evening started. Powerplay brings back favorite covers from Van Halen, ACDC, Led Zeppelin, Bad Company, Guns N Roses, and Alice in Chains, to rock in support of school arts and music education.
On August 28, after a midsummer break, ART ROCK! returns with teen funk jamsters Mellow Mafia, opening for Worcester’s best rockabilly and garage band, Jason James & the Bay State Houserockers. Known as one of Worcester’s hardest working bands, Jason James & the Bay State Houserockers will let loose with a repertoire of barrelhouse rock and blues in the style of George Thoroughgood and Jerry Lee Lewis, among others. Jason James has won numerous awards and has toured with the U.S.O. to support troops.
On September 18, the ARTS ROCK! season will close with a West Boylston-roots doubleheader as OSB and Castine return home. OSB’s music has that same infectious feel of Dave Matthews Band. They have headlined sold out shows throughout New England and have opened for Gavin DeGraw, The Samples, Entrain, Guster, and Lynyrd Skynyrd and 38 Special at the DCU Center. Castine, winners of Worcester Magazine’s 2009 Turtle Boy Music Awards for Best Alternative/Indie Band and Best Male Vocals, will rock ahead with Mike Kittredge of West Boylston on guitar & vocals, Greg Hyder on drums & vocals, and Tom Morris on bass.
“The WBAF funds the Major Elementary School Band in West Boylston. The bands all appreciate what we are doing and the value of the arts in school,” explained Mark Baldi, WBAF President. “The ARTS ROCK! Summer Concerts will be fun, live Saturday night entertainment for youth and adults to support their schools. One of the key features that we tried to incorporate this year was to include local teen and youth bands to open for the headliners. It has been an especially difficult year for fundraising and school budgets, and the elementary school band is particularly vulnerable to be cut. We hope to see all the students come on out and rock West Boylston.”
All concerts start at 7 pm; admission is free for children under 12, $5 for students ages 13-21, and $10 for adults over 21. Advance tickets are available four for the price of three at West Boylston Insurance Agency and Zaza Ink, and may be used in any combination or dates. Concerts will be held indoors at Major Edwards School, 125 Crescent St., West Boylston, in the event of rain. All concert proceeds will be dedicated to funding West Boylston schools’ art and music education. ARTS ROCK! Summer Concerts are sponsored with the help of A. Beardsley Plumbing & Heating. Additional information may be found at www.wbaf.org
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