By LAUREN HALLIGAN
Contributing Writer
Streetlight Manifesto, a punk-ska band from New Brunswick, New Jersey has been officially announced as the headlining act of this year’s Rose Rock festival, to be held on Saturday, April 28. The seven-piece band, fronted by Thomas Kalnoky, includes not only guitars, bass, drums, and vocals, but a trumpet, a trombone and two saxophones.
The announcement was made by Meagan Corbett, director of student activities, at the Valentine’s Day Student Association meeting held in the Standish Conference Rooms in the Events and Athletics Center. Preceding the announcement was a dramatic drum roll by all attendees which culminated in enthusiastic applause following Corbett’s big news. The enthusiasm has set the tone of anticipation for the next few months leading up to the spring event.
In the moments following the big announcement, which occurred at precisely 5:14 p.m., Caitlyn Fuelleman, representative for The Chronicle, promptly tweeted the information from the paper’s twitter account, @StRoseChronicle, and posted it to Facebook, along with all other important business items from the meeting.
Although the news has been officially announced, Corbett noted that the Student Association is still waiting on insurance papers to be approved through The Concert Agency, “the company used by the SA in the process of acquiring the national act.” Corbett reported the decision to be “[about] 93% set in stone,” or as president of the Student Association, Ann Leghorn-McCracken, described it, “paper-pending.”
The band is scheduled to play a 45 minute to one hour set as the finale to the all-day annual concert. Corbett reported that if this year’s Rose Rock is like past performances, an unofficial meet and greet will hopefully occur afterward, where the band decides to mingle with students, although it is not contractually scheduled.
The septet has released four full-length albums since their founding over a decade ago, starting with “Everything Goes Numb,” which was released in 2003 on Victory Records, with which the band is still associated. Their latest release, “99 Songs of Revolution: Volume One” is a cover album.
The New Jersey rockers are known for having what one could call a spastic, upbeat set with lots of intricate horn melody. Jaimen Hume, a music education major and trombonist who’s seen the band over ten times throughout the Northeast, said, “Their blistering fast music and intricate horn lines keep the crowd moving from the second they start playing until their last chord.”
The band is not currently on tour, and has no future shows posted on their website, streetlightmanifesto.com.
Just minutes before the meeting began, Corbett was quoted as saying, “I think people will be excited,” and her prediction was correct.
Ryan Leddick, music education and vocal major and a longtime Streetlight Manifesto fan, has seen the band in concert multiple times over the years. “It’s amazing to see a band that can utilize trombones and brass instruments to make such a beautiful ska sound,” adding that, “people just need to listen to it and experience Streetlight.”
As Alyssa De Gilio, member of the Student Association, reported, “It’s nice to finally know. It should be nice [to hear] something new.”
Corbett invites anyone who has never heard of Streetlight Manifesto to “look them up on Youtube,” since their live performance is unlike many other rock bands students may have previously been exposed.”
Courtney Carr, a freshman, plans to do just that, admitting “I don’t really know who they are, but I’m eager to Youtube them and stalk them on Spotify.”
Senior Travis Sprague, who has listened to the band before, expressed his opinion as well, saying, “I think they bring a little bit of a new element to Rose Rock, but I still would have liked to see a hip hop artist win.”
On the issue of location, Corbett reported that the association will be presenting to the College’s cabinet within the next couple weeks, pitching their ideas and resolutions for having the event be held outside in a safe and sober manner. That announcement “should be out in two to three weeks,” Corbett said.
No matter the situation, it is evident that the student body is already beginning to anticipate the upcoming concert. Student Kait Rooney said, “Rose Rock is always great. [Corbett’s] got a lot of great ideas, so I’m excited to see what happens.”
