Elissa Stanley
The sixth annual Kent Beatle Fest took place in the pubs and coffee shops of Kent on Friday, February 22. Several
locations offered live music from bands and individual singers, all singing famous tunes from the widely loved British rock
band, The Beatles.
The presumed “best group of all time” consists of four artists: John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo
Starr. Originating in Liverpool England, the band started the so-called British Invasion, a cultural phenomenon of the ‘60s
when British musical acts became immensely popular in the United States.
Instantly, The Beatles gained an extreme amount of love in the United States. Fans continue to grow and love The Beatles
for their distinct style and influence. For the devoted fanbase, Downtown Kent hosts the Beatle Fest annually.
Consisting of tribute band lookalikes, individuals and duos, Kent Beatle Fest brings out the nostalgia and deep fondness
Beatles fans thrive on. Just one of the many talented bands, The Sunrise Jones, performed at Zephyr Pub.
The Sunrise Jones brought a surfeit of people into Zephyr, gleaming with their faithful, upbeat tone. Much of the crowd
loved the band, stoked by the lead singer’s voice being “oddly similar to John Lennon’s.” Lennon is an especially loved and
respected member of The Beatles, as lots of the lyrics and beats of the band came from Lennon himself. The crowd at Zephyr
Pub beamed with delight whenever his songs were performed.
The Sunrise Jones played many inspiring tracks written by Lennon. Ranging from the heartfelt, peaceful melody ‘Let It Be’
to the intense, hopeful song Lennon wrote when he was overwhelmed with fame ‘Help!’, the crowd ecstatically sang along.
The Sunrise Jones performed other appreciated hits, such as ‘Here Comes The Sun’, a song about becoming happy after
dark times, ‘I Want To Hold Your Hand’, a typical love song about being close to somebody and ‘Day Tripper’, what Lennon
called a “drug song.”
A rare but popular hit of the night called ‘We Can Work It Out’ written by McCartney and Lennon was performed, leaving
the crowd in chatter and awe. The song has a more personal meaning to McCartney; although, another loved lyric by Lennon
completes the track. “Life is very short. There’s no time for fussing and fighting, my friend.”
Another band by the name Abbey Road played at Dominick’s Pub. Some of the crowd at Zephyr said the band was a
“mirror image” of The Beatles, as they played with the same models of guitars, amps and drums the four used in their concerts.
At the end of the night, Kent was highly influenced by the fab four’s talent and uniqueness. Fans said The Beatles
“indefinitely changed America’s culture and altered the way music was made.”
The Kent Beatle Fest is a fun way to ‘Get Back’ with your friends and family for a night of rock and roll and dining. Kent
Beatle Fest happens each February 22.

Abigail Kuhns
This year’s junior class play, The Crucible, came to life at Stow-Munroe Falls high school. Director and set designer, Robert Putka, announced the junior class play, last year, and drama club has been preparing ever since.
Along with Putka, Tim Pokelsek assisted as the producer and Kyra Raymond-Smith and Josof Ruttig worked on the show as student directors.
Cast and crew auditioned and was determined back in Dec. and started rehearsal in Jan. After two months, the cast and crew was geared up and ready to perform for the four showings.
Lead roles this year included juniors Libby Tritten as Abigail Williams, Dallas Mapes as John Proctor and Ocean Noland as Mary Warren.
“I think we had a lot of success and I am proud of our performances because we all worked really hard, and we came a long way from our first rehearsal,” Tritten said.
The Crucible was written in the 1950’s by Arthur Miller but was set to take place in 1692, in Salem Massachusetts, during the Puritan era.
Miller wrote the play during times of questionable communism in court. He wrote it to portray the fact that the same events happening had already happened hundreds of years ago during the “Salem Witch Trials” in hopes to stop it from happening again.
Over the course of the play nearly one hundred people in the town had been accused of witchcraft and there was no way to prove who actually was a witch. The event started when a group of teenage girls, lead by Abigail Williams, were caught dancing in the woods and the daughter of the town’s reverend was in a Coma. The girls figured out a way to get out of trouble and and the result was lying and putting innocent people in jail and innocent people being hanged. Other townspeople went to court and were just trying to make it all stop, but things did not really go as planned.
“My favorite part of all of it was meeting new people and making new friends in the cast and crew. During the first performance I was nervous but after it went so well, I was no longer nervous because I had so much trust in myself and the cast and crew and knew we could all do it,” Tritten noted.
Everyone in the audience could easily tell how much hard work and thought was put into the production from the costumes, to the set, to the actors, to the accents and most importantly to the emotion.
“I enjoyed watching because the acting was very good, and you could tell the cast and crew worked hard. My favorite part would have to be the conversation between John Proctor and Elizabeth because the acting was spectacular and the scene was interesting,” junior Charisma Carnes said.
The Crucible was filled with dramatic scenes along with cast members bringing some joy, passion, humor and remorse to the play.

H. Suzie Lee
SMFHS Wind Ensemble visited the University of Akron’s 31st Annual Band Clinic Concert Festival.
Band Clinic Concert Festival was held on Feb. 13, 2019 at E. J. Thomas Performing Arts Hall welcoming three high school bands including SMFHS, Mogadore Concert Band, Champion Symphonic Band.
Dr. James R. Shaker was the guest conductor and clinician for the festival; he served as a Professor and Director of the Bands Emeritus at the University of Nebraska.
Guest soloist was Dr. Elisabeth Shafer, a Visiting Assistant Trombone Professor at The University of Akron, and performed “Morceau Symphonique, Op. 88” by Alexandre Guilmant.
Students were able to meet with their instrument profession professor and have an hour length of clinic including rehearsals at EJ Thomas Hall.
After spending a full day at UA communicating with the university’s faculty, students performed at E.J. Thomas Hall with their repertoire.
Evening Program of the concert started with the UA’s University Band, Concert Band.
Mogadore High School Concert Band performed “Bonds of Unity” by Karl King and “Polly Oliver” by Thomas Root with Stephanie Bonitz, conductor of the band. James Shaker, guest conductor, directed “Voltage” by David Shaffer.
Champion High School Symphonic Band played “Down in the River” by Jay Bocook within the direction of Tyler Husosky. Shaker directed “Strange Humors” by John Mackey.
SMFHS Wind Ensemble performed “Black Granite” by James L. Hosay and “Shine” by Julie Giroux with conducting of Greg Newman. Shaker directed “Variations on a Korean Folk Song” by John Barnes Chance.
Concert was finished with UA’s Symphonic Band and all of the brass players in the high school performed “God of Our Fathers” by Claude T. Smith.