Middle School Guitar Club concert showcases young rock musicians

WARWICK — The Warwick Middle School Guitar Club put on its much anticipated concert on Tuesday, Feb. 13, after Winter Storm Nemo forced its postponement from the previous Friday.

The club is made up of 67 Middle School students who auditioned last November to play guitar, bass, drums, keyboard or sing in this year’s performance.

The show came together following two months of afterschool rehearsals and rehearsals on three Saturdays in January. Club advisors and middle school science teachers Ed Mesic and John Gouveia received additional help during rehearsals from former club advisor Darrell Wilbur and Helen Bentley, who coached the vocalists.

Middle School music teachers Ryan Muehlbauer and Elissa Jones-Leonard also lent their expertise. Sound during the concert was provided by Audio L.L.C. whose owner, Jack Sinsabaugh, is a Warwick graduate and local resident.

WTBQ listeners got a five-song preview of the concert on the afternoon of Monday, Feb. 4, as a group of students were given the opportunity to perform live and on air in the radio studio during School Superintendent Dr. Ray Bryant’s “Your Schools” broadcast.

A little jazz, rock, reggae, grunge and pop

The evening concert featured an eclectic mix of 17 current hits and favorite blasts from the past.

The show opened with the Middle School Jazz Band’s performance of the “Peter Gunn Theme,” written by Henry Mancini, with its instantly familiar bass line originally written for the 1950s TV show of the same name, but perhaps best known now from the Blues Brothers movie.

There were also two special treats. The first was a group of high school students who returned to their Guitar Club roots and performed “Melt with You” by Modern English.

Then there was a chance for faculty and club advisors to show their stuff as they performed “Gimme Three Steps” by Lynyrd Skynyrd.

As the show closed with the performance of “Some Nights,” balloons found their way into the air, kept aloft with the help of the audience, young and old.

It was a memorable evening as the eighth graders ended their final year in the Middle School Guitar Club and, perhaps, the younger members of the audience were inspired to follow in their footsteps.

This article was provided by Katie Bisaro.