SUMMER ’22 ROCK-IT

After what felt like an eternity with the COVID delays, the Rock-It summer concert finally happened on the night before Speech Day. The marquee was filled by most of the school and a large stage with full lighting rig. Food was provided by stands selling “street food” before the music kicked off with the Future House DJ Matt G.

B And A Block

The B Block Band who, despite being the youngest in the school, opened the show flawlessly with Oasis’ Don’t Look Back In Anger sung by Seren O, accompanied by Ben P, Greg M, Ilya P, Toby H, Amber M-S, Edie G, Jonathan B, Jasper S and Iyo K. This group formed and practised together during the B Block Creative Studies lessons to give a confident set that included Abba’s Mamma Mia sung by Hannah D and Sophie S, Oasis’ Don’t Look Back in Anger and 7 Nation Army from Seren

O and Walking on Sunshine sung by Emma M and accompanied by Will M, Ben P, Greg M and Ilya P.

The audience had steadily built up, thanks to these flawlessly-performed fan favourites, and further energy was drummed up by the DJ set “Harry`s Hombres” featuring Harry A, quickly followed by another set “Beech Party & Bounce – Lost Soul” by DJ Matt G. The A Block Band with Henry W, Michael C and Rubens D then gave us the Arctic Monkeys’ 505.

O Block

The O Block band performed a more diverse and energetic set with the surf-inspired Wipe Out - Rubens D on guitar, Daniel C on acoustic guitar, Harry A on keys and Ava M on kit. This group expertly supported all the O Block artists. Dear Future Husband by Marisa L kept the energy up, leading into Jenna L singing Before He Cheats - the first country song Rock-It has had. I told you we had variety! Grace D followed this with Amy Winehouse’s Rehab which bought the pace up perfectly for the closing number, Counting Stars, sung by Daniel C and Harry S. By now the crowd had reached its largest and was joining in with all the performances.

Lower Sixth

The bridge between the junior and senior groups was made by a mixed group who played Nirvana’s Smells

Like Teen Spirit – Carwyn O, Rubens D, Ilya P, Greg M and RF. Then the Lower Sixth groups were up and ready, starting the set with Breakeven by The Script – vocals from Emily R, Esther A-A with Ed R and Ali T on guitar, Louis A on keyboard and Ava M on drums. The energy continued to rise as Esther was joined by Joe S to perfectly perform American Boy, with Phoebe L now on drums. Stop this Flame, made famous by Sky Sports as their intro for the premier league matches, came next, and then Charlie H closed the set with the Bruno Mars’ hit Locked Out of Heaven.

Upper Sixth

The Upper Sixth made for the stage for their final Rock-It performances. Piers D opened the set with Hypersonic Missile with Rubens D (yes, they are related!) on guitar, Greg M on bass and Ava M on drums. Tom W, Max E-W and Archie W then took over band duties as the Upper Sixth’s finest vocalists - Jabril K, Lucy W, Reims W and Harriet C – gave us a series of classics: Deep Water, Something to Talk

About, Wonderwall and Sk8ter Boi, culminating in the iconic Great Balls of Fire featuring Ben B-M on vocals and Louis A on keyboard.

Finally, the night was closed by Carwyn O (that’s me!) singing a memorable Mr Brightside to an audience now at fever pitch. After rapturous applause, the crowd headed back to houses and that was the end of another successful evening of high-quality music.

Rock-It is back with no fatalities and plenty of well-known songs! A massive thank you to both Mr Gatford for supporting and to Mr Fairbrother for helping performances on stage and for organising the event. Bring on the next one!

Carwyn O (U6P)