Maroon Town Band Visit

On Thursday, 24 October we were delighted to host a day of Jamaican music workshops, presented by a visiting band called ‘Maroon Town’, to help highlight Black History Month. 

The underpinning theme of diversity came through clearly in the sessions, which were held throughout the day and attended by all Year 8 pupils and some Year 9 PDL classes. The vibrant workshops were filled with enriched learning; pupils were connected professional musicians, who celebrated and raised awareness of multi-racial culture through several Caribbean musical styles, including reggae, ska, roots, calypso and town hall.

The band, who are a multi-racial, London-based group, shared how their work and music making is inspired by the spirit of the escaped African people who had been taken as slaves, who created 'Maroon Towns' in the Jamaican mountains (and on other Caribbean islands) from as early as the 1500s. Their performances of classic songs from Jamaica and the Caribbean, offered a journey through Caribbean history, geography, and stories of important Jamaican people such as Nanny of the Maroons, Marcus Garvey, Millie Small and Bob Marley.

Pupils (and several members of staff!) enjoyed becoming fully involved in lots of singing, and some with playing along with the band and helping to re-enact significant events in Jamaican history. The highlight for many was being taught ska music dance moves called criss-cross, climb-rope, peep-peep, give-tek and me-back-a-itch-me!

This event was kindly offered to Springfield and funded by ‘WemsFest’ - an entirely volunteer-run, community interest organisation in the Westbourne-Emsworth area, which aims to enrich lives through music. We do hope they will return next year. 

Here are some comments from pupils about their experience:

'The Jamaican workshop was fun and interesting. I loved learning about Jamaican history.' (Noah)

'The lesson was so fun and I enjoyed it a lot. I loved the dancing and the singing and when the lady let everyone sing some bits of the song into the microphone. If I had another opportunity to take part in it again, I would definitely.' (Lola)

'I learnt that Jamaica is made up of a lot of different races and had to fight for its independence. I enjoyed the songs that were very upbeat and fun. I also enjoyed the dancing at the end. I looked around and everyone was enjoying themselves.' (Millie)

'I enjoyed learning dance moves and singing along to the songs. I learnt about different types of Jamaican music and about how Nanny of the Maroons helped slaves to escape and that she is now on the Jamaican 500 dollar note.' (Ebony)

'I loved this workshop shop because it was very interesting and I loved the dance . My favourite song was ‘I’m Free’. I would love to do this every day!' (Annabel)

'I enjoyed the workshop because it was very interactive and it got lots of people up and moving about. I also liked all the songs and how enjoyable they were. I've learnt about the blue mountains and about Nanny of the Maroons and Marcus Garvey. Overall I really enjoyed learning and singing about this topic.' (Ava-Rose)

'I liked the Jamaican workshop because the songs were catching and fun to join in and sing. I also like how you had a lot of options to join in and take part.' (Joshua)

'It was really cool. I learnt about the Spanish and English wars with Jamaica. The songs were fun and catchy.' (Tara)

'I really enjoyed the workshop as the singer was amazing and I really enjoyed listening to the band. I would love to do this again.'  (Amelia)

'I really enjoyed the way all the members of Maroon Town made it fun with the way they explained things. I also enjoyed dancing. I learnt about diversity and the history of Jamaica and how it came to be an independent country.' (Leo)

'I liked the energy the band had and all of the dance moves and songs.' (Hollie)

'I enjoyed the dancing and the dance skills I learnt.' (Cagri)

'The workshop was very interactive and taught me a lot about Jamaica. For example, one of the songs talked about the blue mountains and that it was a place where slaves went to escape from slave masters.' (Casper)

'I enjoyed the enthusiasm of the band. They were very kind. I also enjoyed learning about the different cultures and the history of Jamaica. I learnt new songs and dance moves.' (Sahana)

'The Jamaican workshop was excellent because it was different from our normal timetabled routine, so we refreshed our minds. It was also good because it had diverse people from different backgrounds sharing their cultures.' (Waleed)