Christian bands Scarlet White and Sweet Ascent will perform Sunday night at 7 p.m. in McNamara Hall in Howard Music Building in a charity concert to benefit the Renaissance School. Admission to the concert is free, but donations are welcomed.
The Renaissance School is an alternative middle school funded by the Hillsdale County Intermediate School District. The program’s purpose is to help students struggling academically or socially get back on track before high school. College students volunteer there weekly, and have raised money for the school in the past.
“They did a haunted house event, and they bought the kids Christmas presents, but they were things they needed, like shoes and sweatshirts, and that was awesome,” teacher Jennifer Murphy said. “Our students always need the basic necessities.”
Freshman Nathan Steinmeyer organized the event in conjunction with sophomore Sam Clausen, who volunteers at the Renaissance School. Steinmeyer used to book bands in high school, and this is his first opportunity to do so here at Hillsdale.
“I was a booking agent back in high school. I would host venues and book bands. When I came here, that was something I wanted to keep doing, but there was no opportunity for it. I started looking around campus for how I could do it, and I came up with the idea that if I did it for charity, I could do it,” he said.
Sweet Ascent is described as an “up-and-coming rock/pop/hardcore band,” and opener Scarlet White is a “heavy post-grunge rock band.” Steinmeyer has heard Sweet Ascent live before.
“They’re very energetic. Everything they do is crazy, running all over, jumping off things. It’s a blast,. They love what they do. They love audience interaction,” he said.
College students that volunteer at Renaissance School have been advertising the event to the school’s students. Steinmeyer will propose the $300 fee to bring in the bands to Student Federation, but said he will pay for the band’s fees – mainly gas money, as the bands are from Three Rivers, Michigan (Scarlet White) and Lawrence, Kansas (Sweet Ascent) – out of his own pocket if the funds are denied.
