Carleton music students studying rock fusion will perform a different type of concert Jan. 21 for their annual winter showcase performance, now known as Carleton Bandfest.
This year, students learning fusion, a style of music that mixes jazz and rock, will be performing at Oliver’s Pub instead of their usual show at the Kailash Mital Theatre, said Wayne Eagles, the performance professor whose students are to be showcased at the concert to fulfill a course requirement.
“More often, where you get rock-influenced newer music and pop- or funk-influenced music [is] in the clubs and so on,” he said.
“So it’s to put it in a club environment, just a little more of a social atmosphere,” he said.
James Wright, a Carleton music professor who helped to organize Bandfest, said having the fusion students play at Oliver’s is “a format that really, in some ways, suits this Bandfest format more than a formal theatre.”
The venue and concert name aren’t the only changes for the students’ performance, Eagles said.
The show is running later than usual, with bands scheduled to keep playing until 1 a.m., and fusion students won’t be the only ones performing.
A few local indie bands of current and former Carleton students will also play at Bandfest, Wright said.
Fusion students are first on the program, but Bazooka Joe, HML, The Aesthetics, Play and The Swingers are set to fill four hours of the night’s performances, Wright confirmed.
“It’s a diverse range of music. We’ve got the fusion ensemble combos playing first, and primarily, they are original arrangements of existing material,” Eagles said.
He added he expects the indie bands will be playing their own original work.
The bands’ short sets and long list of performances mean “there’s lots to be exposed to,” he said.
“Lots of music to see and lots of contrast between the performances,” Eagles said. “Lots of instrumental music, but lots of vocal music as well.”
A further change this year is the involvement of CKCU radio as a presenting partner, along with the Carleton Music Student Society, Eagles said.
The idea to change the show began in November with a dialogue between Wright, Eagles, CKCU station manager Matthew Crosier, and Zak Pleet, president of the Carleton Music Student Society, Wright explained.
“They were just talking about wanting to get a little bit more interaction going on between the department and the radio station,” Eagles said. “This seemed like a good way to do it.”
The students involved are excited to play, Wright said, adding he expects the performance will have a successful attendance rate, high performance quality and level of enjoyment.
“We’re looking forward to the experiment,” Eagles said.