What better way to beat those January blues than by belting out your favourite rock songs to a packed Quarry Theatre? Some of us might only dream about hanging from the microphone while riffing on the guitar, but for a talented bunch of musicians and singers from Bedford School and Bedford Girls’ School, this was the reality as they came together for Rock Night on 26 January, raising over £1,000 for the Bedfordshire Music Trust in the process.
With a carefully lit theatre, seats pushed back and the auditorium packed with an audience ready to dance the night away, Rock Night 2023 proved to be one of the most buzzing ever. With a mix of solo performances, boy bands, girl bands and mixed bands, we were treated to an eclectic mix of pop and rock performances creating an electric atmosphere for an energetic audience who sang, danced and cheered as their friends took to the stage.
The night saw the likes of bands such as Apostrophe, Counteract, Steal the Moon and Occupied alongside the ever-popular Funk Band who performed Beggin’. Soloists and duets were also within the mix of performances, with Tesha Wikramanayake and Toby L’Estrange capturing the audience with their lively performance of Dead Ringer for Love by Meatloaf followed by Gideon Chan who got the whole room singing and dancing with Ed Sheeran’s Castle on the Hill.
As is tradition, the night closed with a DJ set; this year, Charlie Faulkner and Zachary Wasterfall’s set took the dancing to a different level, and the room resembled a club scene rather than a theatre. This was followed by Gabriel Almeida who performed another DJ set, which was equally lively to end the night on a massive high.
Upper Sixth Former Will Roberts, who performed on the night, told us, “It was a great night. The environment is always very alive at Rock Night, but this year it just seemed to be even better. The crowd was buzzing from minute one until the final DJ set. A lot of hard work was put in by many talented boys, girls, and staff to get the evening going both on and off the stage. So, credit to all those who helped make Rock Night another huge success.”
