The Saint Louis Steel Band performed in another great concert in Ithaca May 16.
The Ithaca Community Festival is an annual event held in Ithaca to celebrate the community and promote the shops in the area. The festival had a raffle to help raise money for the community all together. After much sunshine, the steel band set up and played a total of 15 songs between three different steel bands. It was a wonderful experience for both spectators and players alike.
This event has been happening for years, but for some sharks it was a first. Freshman Selah Sprague stated, “To be honest, the sheer number of people at the event really took me by surprise. It being my first year, I wasn’t expecting such a massive crowd; it was pretty overwhelming but in a good way. Song wise, my favorite song to perform was definitely ‘Monkey Wrench.’ It’s not only a blast to play because of its energy, but that dance break in the middle gets everyone going, including us on stage. Beyond the music, one of the absolute highlights was when someone brought out clothes pins, and a spontaneous game of trying to clip them on each other broke out. It was hilarious and so much fun; those unexpected moments really made the event special. I left feeling energized and am already excited to see what new surprises and experiences next year will bring.”
Some others, however, have played in this event before. Sophomore Bryce Buchanan stated, “To be honest, I got really nervous playing ‘Chemical Overreaction’ because I have difficulties counting into the guitar solo but it worked out and we played it just fine. My favorite song to play was ‘Detroit Rock City’ because I always have fun playing it and it is really fun to play especially with my buddy Gracie. My favorite moment from the concert was playing ‘Detroit rock city’ and ‘Monkey Wrench.’ I really like those songs and there’s a lot of fun stuff we do in them like dancing. I can also just talk to Gracie without messing up during them as well.”
The Steel Band’s Last performance will be at the Highland Festival in Alma May 24.
