by John Downey '23 on November 17, 2022
A&E Co-Editor
Arts & Entertainment
Last Thursday, there was a small concert held at one of Rhode Island’s most distinctive venues, News Cafe. Located a few highway exits away from The Met, this bar is a beloved spot for local bands and has featured acts from all over the world. However, despite its rich history, few Providence College students knew about it. That all changed last week.
The bill for the night consisted of The Keegan Turner Band, who played at WDOM’s Tune In on Oct. 28; Party Mountain, a pop punk band from Massachusetts; and Jack Wilmot and Co., a PC-based band that took The Met by storm on Oct. 6. At first, interest in the concert was low, particularly after the original lineup fell through, but as the date approached, more and more buzz began to grow until it was clear that there was going to be a decent crowd for the event.
Kicking off the night at 8:30 was The Keegan Turner Band. The members of this group include PC students Jack Downey ’23 on bass and Colin McNamara ’25 on guitar, along with the titular Keegan Turner on guitar and vocals, and Dennis Chadwick on drums. Their set at News Cafe was a special one because it consisted entirely of unreleased material. Since they had plans to record a ten-track album over the course of this past weekend, the band decided to run through all the songs in front of a live audience in order to gauge the reaction to each one and to work out any possible problems.
The Keegan Turner Band tore through their set with confidence despite several of the songs having never been played in front of a live audience. Certain songs, such as the doo-wop inspired ballad “Mrs. Sandman,” got a noticeable amount of praise from those present, while the band clearly had a good time playing songs such as the massive crescendo of a closer, “Bethany.” The group played like a well-oiled machine, and anticipation for the currently unnamed album is certainly much higher after the show.
After them came Party Mountain. Although there were no members of the PC community in this band, they still got the Friars in the crowd moving with their highly energetic songs and lighthearted stage presence. There was quite a lot of musical talent on display, with each member’s playing connecting seamlessly like a sonic puzzle. At one point, three of the members switched instruments, but this did nothing to hinder the quality of the performance. Their music, which had elements of Blink-182, Foo Fighters, and even ska at one point, had their dedicated fans dancing across the floor and more casual fans at the very least nodding their heads.
Finally, Jack Wilmot and Co. took the stage. By this point, the venue was packed, with a sea of PC students crowded in front of where the band was standing. With Jack Wilmot ’24 on vocals, the band behind him consisted of Ryan Peduto ’25 on lead guitar, Alex Rhezak ’23 on rhythm guitar, Brendan Greene ’23 on drums, and newest member Ava Dobski ’25 on bass. The group kicked things off with a cover of Declan McKenna’s “Brazil.” They then worked through a mixture of fan favorites such as Tom Petty’s “Free Fallin’” and John Mayer’s “Waiting on the World to Change,” as well as modern alt-rock hits such as The Backseat Lovers’ “Kilby Girl” and Mt. Joy’s “Sheep.” For a number of these songs, Wilmot was joined on vocals by his friend Daniel Ruse ’24, which helped to hype the crowd up even more. The amount of support for Wilmot and his band was massive, and it led to the final set of the night being an incredibly pleasant experience.
When the concert was over, people either left the venue or stayed at the bar a little while longer. Either way, it was a very fun concert, and hopefully there will be another show at News Cafe soon.