Schools
Students Rock Out for a Good Cause at Jamnesty
'Silver Hammer' Tops Full Night of Music at Humanitarian Event
The swagger of youth rocked the house on Friday night at the Ledyard High School Auditorium as five student bands took the stage to compete in the Ledyard High School’s Amnesty International Club’s annual fund raising event, Jamnesty: Battle of the Bands.
Although there were three less bands than would normally participate (due to various students’ events being hosted on the same night), the crowd was hearty and the bands jammed it out in true rocker fashion.
“We’re here to rock your world tonight,” shouted the lead singer of WDFB.
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And that they did. From skinny jeans, high-top sneakers and hair easily flipped with a quick toss of the head, the mostly boy bands played to the crowd with charisma and flair. With a mix of catchy cover songs like “Follow Me” by Unkle Kracker, to the way back tunes of “Rich Girl” by Hall and Oates, the bands showed a range that reached far beyond their years.
And the crowd ate it up, spontaneously clapping along and erupting into impromptu dancing along the stage front.
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Topping off the talent was the band Silver Hammer. They may have been the last band to take the stage, but they won first place for the night with the judges. Teacher advisor to the AIC, Kurt Jannke proclaimed that they are, “the best band we’ve ever had walk through those doors.”
A full ensemble, complete with piano, guitars, bass, saxophone, drums and a lead singer (who may have yet to reach junior high), Silver Hammer wowed the crowd with vocals to give you chills and instrumentals that set the crowd on fire.
Coming in a strong second was Paxatopia, while The Other Left came in third to nicely round out the top three.
Although music was the entertainment of the night, the purpose behind Jamnesty is to raise awareness and money for a charitable humanitarian cause chosen yearly by AIC student members. The Invisible Children will be the 2011, recipient of the Jamnesty proceeds, which historically could be as much as $1,000.
Founded in 2003, The Invisible Children works to end the kidnapping of thousands of children in northern Uganda by one man; Joseph Kony. Since the 1980’s Kony has waged an unpopular rebel war in northern Uganda. Lacking support and troops, Kony has resorted to kidnapping children and training them as soldiers to fight his war.
By raising money for The Invisible Children, the AIC will help fund relief efforts that will build radio towers to alert villages of Kony’s impending approach, allowing children to escape capture. Funds will also be used for education, scholarships and humanitarian campaigns as outlined on the organization’s website as, “…carefully researched and developed initiatives that address the need for quality education, mentorships, the redevelopment of schools, resettlement from the camps, and financial stability”.
Audience members were captivated during intermission by a film trailer tracing the story of Tony Bracelet, a Ugandan man, himself kidnapped as a child by Joseph Kony.
On April 29th, Bracelet will make a personal appearance at the Ledyard High School’s AIC to screen the documentary of his journey and to answer student’s questions first-hand.
For now the Ledyard High School AIC will continue its campaign to raise money and awareness for humanitarian efforts around the world, and for one night, in a dimly lit auditorium they deftly proved that humanitarians of any age can rock it out to raise money for a worthy cause.
