On Friday, March 21, from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., several bands performed at Deer Park Villa to raise money for the Archie Williams music program. The fundraiser featured performances, a raffle, a silent auction, a display of student art, and a variety of food and merchandise for sale. Both adult and student bands performed, and the event drew a large crowd of students, families, and community members. 

The fundraiser was at Deer Park Villa, which offered outdoor and indoor areas. The main room where the musicians performed was spacious and filled with a large audience. Another room showcased Archie Williams students’ artwork, available for both sale and display, and for food and refreshments, the fundraiser offered a variety of pastries, snacks, and pizza for sale, as well as drinks from the bar. 

Tickets to the fundraiser were 20 dollars for adults and five dollars for children and students. Volunteers conducted a raffle to raise money for the program, with each ticket costing one dollar. The raffle offered a variety of prizes, including gift cards to local businesses such as Swirl and T&B Sports, services such as college counseling and guitar lessons, and products such as a ukulele and backpacks.

Archie Williams freshman Scarlett Rankin attended the concert as a music student, though she was not performing herself. Scarlett enjoyed the location because of its scenic environment and the raffle’s accessibility.

“[The location] is so beautiful. It’s such a nice vibe here. And I think the amount of auction items that we have is really impressive, and it’s pretty affordable, so I think it’s very accessible,” Scarlett said. 

The event was created to raise money for the Archie Williams music programs to cover the costs of field trips, equipment, instrument repairs, and clinicians. The event was primarily organized by parents including Jen Ciraldo, one of the lead parent organizers, who was motivated to organize the fundraiser because she saw the music teacher Mario Aparicio’s and the students’ passion for the music program.  

“A group of us parents really loved what Mario has been doing to build this program. We saw his passion, and so we wanted to support the program. So we got together and started planning [the fundraiser] back in October,” Ciraldo said. 

The opening performers, the Archie Williams Jazz Band, began their set at 6 p.m. The band had senior bassist Noah Casey, sophomore Alex Casey and senior Zeke Cunningham on drums. Junior Ryan Cunningham was on the trombone, senior Roy Quaas on alto sax, and senior Eli Galland on guitar. Senior singer Kalliope Parish and sophomore Lilly Zucker stood out during the band’s vocal performance of “All The Things You Are” by Jerome Kern. 

Archie Williams band F.A.T. Betty performed next, which had lead singer sophomore Petra Betti, junior Fin Donnelley on guitar, junior Teo Donnelley on keys, Alex, and Noah. Their set featured a cover of “The Lemon Song” by Led Zeppelin. 

The next band to perform was Jinx, which included junior Finn Gleason on guitar, junior Ben Bergan on guitar, junior Mason O’Byrne on bass, senior Ellis Lynch on drums, Petra and senior Stella Gregor on vocals, and senior Stella Smoot on vocals and keyboard. Their set featured a cover of “Silver Springs” by Fleetwood Mac, highlighting Petra’s powerful vocals. Their set also featured “Funk #49” by James Gang, “Play That Funky Music” by Wild Cherry, and “Valerie” by Amy Winehouse. 

Following Jinx was Archie Williams band Ready for Geddy, which included Noah, Zeke, senior Elliott Garneau, Archie Williams alumni Casey Sorensen, and Marin Academy senior Calin Blodgett. The band is known for playing classic and heavy rock, and their setlists are heavily influenced by the 1968 rock band Rush. Their set featured “Panama” by Van Halen, “Good Times, Bad Times” by Led Zeppelin, and “Tom Sawyer” by Rush. 

To finish off the night, Shoplifters United, the only adult band, took the stage as a cover band for The Smiths, featuring Pascal Garneau, Matt Palmer, Tommy Casey, and James Manning. They played The Smiths classics, such as “There’s a Light That Never Goes Out” and “Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now.”

Elliott, a senior guitarist for Ready for Geddy, enjoyed performing during the fundraiser, especially because it helped raise money for the music program. 

“[Performing] feels great. We spent a lot of time working on these songs, and it’s good to create some funds for the music program. We definitely need some new equipment,” Elliott said. 

Ciraldo emphasized that one of the primary goals of the event was to bring together students, families, and community members 

“We wanted this to be bigger than just a high school fundraiser. We wanted it to be a community event,” Ciraldo said. 

Many audience members enjoyed watching the performance. Scarlett especially enjoyed watching her friends perform and seeing their progression. 

“[My favorite part was] watching my friends perform. I think it’s always really fun because it’s fun to watch how far they’ve progressed from when I first started listening to them,” Scarlett said. 

Mario Aparicio, the Archie Williams music director, wanted to use this event to inspire others and give students a chance to showcase their musical talent. According to him, making the audience enjoy the show and feel inspired was one of the event’s primary objectives. 

“We’re here to play music for others. That’s why we do music, we perform, and that’s what we’re all about,” Aparicio said. 

From 6 p.m. to 10:30 p.m., The Archie Williams Music Fundraiser brought together community members of all ages to enjoy music, art, and spend time together. The Archie Williams music department’s next performances are March 26, 28, and 29, and will feature students from the Performance Workshop program.