Poster for the Coachella Event. Photo by Megan Downer.
On June 10th of this year, the Malden High School band is hosting a Malden Music Festival for the first time. It will be hosted at the Salemwood middle school field from 1pm until 9pm. Tickets will be on sale for $5 all throughout lunch block, and if you have some free time during the day you can buy a ticket at the band room in H216. The tickets will be $7 at the door. All proceeds from the festival will be dedicated for the music departments in Malden.
There will be plenty of music from the thirteen different people performing instrumental pieces, including performances from the Malden High School Jazz band, the Malden Ukulele group, and senior Megan Melanson on the saxophone. In addition to the instrumental groups that will perform at Coachella, there will also be several sensational vocal performances by Christopher Giordano’s Acapella group (the Fermata Town), by our very own former MHS graduate Sarah Viera, Jerry Under Fed, Don Dzy, Dj Nicc, Soul Pilgrims, the Woo Factor, the MHS Choir, and many more performances from around the district of Malden!
MHS band teacher and festival Coordinator, Erin O’Brien Mazza, is so excited that, “[the festival] keeps [her] up at night [because] [she keeps] thinking about it,” and she has very high expectations for the music festival, this is for “everyone to have fun, and for everyone’s eyes just to be opened to how important music and art is in the school. [Because] [she thinks] a lot of times they’re taken for granted. A lot of times people actually don’t think we need them. So, [she’s] really excited and [she’s] expecting that after [they] have the festival that people will realize how vitally important they are to our community and to the schools.” In this way, she also hopes to unite the community with the power of music.
Many of the performers are just as enthusiastic about the event as Mazza is. Jerry Under Fed is “very excited” about the music festival, and he believes that it’ll be “a great experience,” especially since, “[this is] the first time something like [this] is happening in Malden, so [he] really can’t wait to perform.” He plans on playing a lot of the things that are on his SoundCloud, so his fans should definitely show up to support him especially if they want to hear some new material Jerry Under Fed has been working on. He expects to see, “all types of people there, all ages, all backgrounds [to] just come together and have a fun time.” He gives a “shout out to Ms. Mazza for putting [the event] together,” and he urges people to “make sure [they] get [their] tickets.”
MHS senior band member, Megan Melanson, is performing in the jazz band is “really excited,” and she believes “[the event is] gonna be a lot of fun, and [she] feel[s] like it’s gonna be really beneficial to the music and arts departments,” since it’ll raise awareness and encourage students to join the different areas in the music department. She explains that the Jazz Band will be performing, “a couple songs, one is Chameleon, another one is Everybody Needs Somebody to Love, [they’re] also doing Shut Up & Dance and a couple other ones.”
Even though it will be a music festival, there will be plenty of other activities going on at the Salemwood field, such as yard games, flower crowns, face paintings and flash tattoos done by the skilled hands of members from the MHS art program. Mazza explains that the yard games will include, “can-jam and spike ball, [they] have jump ropes and hula hoops for the little kids,” which will definitely keep children on their toes and occupied throughout the event. Let’s not forget that this will be an all-day event, so there will be plenty of food provided by 4 different food trucks and an ice cream, and a lot of dj-ing. So buy your tickets as soon as possible and come support the MHS band members who will be performing.
Correction: An earlier version of this article was published referring to the festival as Coachella.
