Talented young musicians perform at ‘Band Heroes 2016’ 

The Bishop’s College ground was packed as Band Heroes kicked off on Saturday the 5th of March. It was an amazing evening of music, under the brightly lit starry sky where the students of different schools got together to enjoy as one. Since this was not a competition, there was no feel of rivalry; hence the ambience was warm and friendly.  The food and beverage stalls around the grounds were filled with people of all ages. 

‘Movement’ the band from S Thomas’ College were the first on stage. Their song ‘Shut up and dance’ started off the evening with a bang. The other bands that performed were ‘Streamline’ and  ‘Kryptics’ from St. Joseph’s College, ‘Mainstream’ and ‘The Farskids’ from St.Peter’s College, ‘Riperning’ from D.S Senanayake College and ‘The Monkeys’ from Ananda College. The three all girl bands were ‘The Crew’ and ‘975’ from Bishop’s College and ‘Kryptonite’ from Ladies College. 

The repertoire was diverse and varied. The audience enjoyed songs from the likes of ‘You are the one that I want’ a top favourite of the 70s movie Grease, performed by ‘Kryptonics’ to, the fabulous rendition of Rude, performed by ‘The Crew’. The words of Rude,‘Can I have your daughter for the rest of my life?’...... ‘Why you gotta be so rude’ was being echoed by all the youngsters. ‘Pem Lowe’ a popular song with Sinahala lyrics, was among the songs sung by Kryptic. A Disney mash up, Love Yourself, Radioactive,  Like I’m Gonna Lose You, Hall of Fame, Highway to Hell, Drag Me Down and Counting Stars were just a few of the numbers that were performed. 

The second segment saw more upbeat songs, with ‘Streamline’ singing a string of evergreen Bailas such as ‘Thanakolapeththo’, which the audience thoroughly enjoyed. The quality of performance, of all these bands were remarkable. Such a lot of talent at such a young age! Throughout the evening, the two energetic comperes  Lithmal and Thilina kept thanking the Bishop’s College Interact Club for initiating and organising this event and giving an opportunity for talented schoolchildren to showcase their talents. 

 

From the tiniest detail on the crew ID tags to the lighting and sound on the enormous stage, everything had been seen to and perfected, by the dynamic organising committee of the Bishop’s College Interact Club who organised Band Heroes 2016. 

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Performers 

Belinda Seneviratne (‘Kryptonite’ - Ladies College) 

This is the first time we experienced something like this. It was all such a coincident. Actually it was like a miracle. There was absolutely no planning.  A week before the auditions we just gathered everyone, made a band and allocated instruments to them. It’s so nice to see how much we’ve blended since then. I had so much of stage fright as I had only sung in the choir before. It was an amazing experience. 

Navodith Fernando (‘Kryptics’ - St. Joseph’s College) 

I think Band Heroes is a really great opportunity for upcoming talent and for people to improve the talents they have. It gives us a good platform with a live audience. So it’s a great experience. Although I have taken part in school events, this is my first public performance. We are doing this for fun in between studies. 

Naveksha (‘The Crew’ – Bishop’s College) 

I’m the drummer of our band. The show was really good. We had a great crowd. I’m sure everyone had a good time. It was an awesome experience for us. Thanks to Band Heroes, we had a platform to showcase our talents. 

Areev (Riperning - D.S Senanayake College) 

This is the first time D.S Senanayake College is participating at Band Heroes. Sanu was the main person who got us all involved in this and made us take part in this event. It’s a great event. Everything was super. 

Dhanuk Fernando (‘Movement’ - S. Thomas’ College) 

This is the first time our band has played for Band Heroes. Crowd was amazing. We definitely did something extraordinary on that stage. My band is really talented and we are capable of doing something people haven’t seen before. We’ve thought of Band Heroes as our first performance. These guys in the band are like my brothers and we hope to continue for a very long time. 

Pavani Ratnayake 

Band Heroes this year was amazing. The turnout was good and the bands that performed were exceptionally talented. All of us in the organising committee worked extremely hard to pull this off in the best possible way, so I hope everyone who came enjoyed it as much as we did. 

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Audience members 

Roshintha 

It’s a super show. My best friends performed. When you come here you get to meet a lot of cool people. So it’s a lot of fun. I’ve been coming for this since I was in grade six. 

Thenuka 

The show was good but I think the sounds were a bit off. Other than that everything was good. Our bands the Josephians, performed extremely well. 

Tashya 

This is my third time at Band Heroes. It’s definitely a big improvement from the previous times. This time my sister Anya performed with ‘Kryptonics’. They were amazing and all the hard work they put in was well worth it. The ambience was really nice and all the performances were good. 

Devruk 

It’s my first time at Band Heroes. Great show. I’m not a musician but I like music. I enjoyed myself. 

Dulani 

It’s a really cool show. The music was awesome and there are lots of stalls also. So it’s nice. 

Lucky 

The show was amazing. The talent of these young ones from different schools was fantastic. It’s great that a concert like this is organised so that these talented youngsters can meet each other, enjoy music and have so much fun. 

Mazeena 

These young ones are awesome. The bands are excellent. The coordination and the organising is really good. The children are having fun together. It’s a great show. 

Heshara 

It was really happening. I enjoyed myself and I’m sure everyone else did as well. 

Ayanthi 

I’m really happy to see these youngsters performing so well. I’m enjoying the music. The quality of the whole concert was very good. 

Ashmitha 

It was really good. We had a great time. 

Areed 

It was a good show. All the bands were good and the ambience was super. I had a great time. 

Sachira 

It was a great show. Band Heroes is a big hit among the schools. All the bands were amazing. 

Shenali 

It was a great show. The sounds the lighting everything is perfect. I love this type of music so I had a super time. 

Reviewed by Niro Waidyaratne 
Photographs by Pradeep Dilrukshana