Bishop Brady High School has brought Concord many things, from a mascot that also sells delicious vegetables to school buses with seriously sweet paint jobs. Now the school is giving the city a chance to see a pair of country music stars on the rise.
Krista Angelucci and Skyler will be performing at the Concord City Auditorium on April 5 at 8 p.m. to raise money for Bishop Brady’s tuition assistance fund. The show is among the most ambitious performances ever promoted by the school, thanks in part to Angelucci’s willingness to participate for what Maureen Kimball of Brady called “a nominal fee that wouldn’t even cover her gas getting here.”
Angelucci’s appearance isn’t exactly random – two of her cousins attend Bishop Brady and another graduated a year ago. But with her career on the verge of taking off for good – one of her music videos recently won Video of the Year at the 2013 Limelight Magazine Music Awards, and she’s slated to open for Darius Rucker of Hootie and the Blowfish fame, among others, at a June show in Gilford – the Massachusetts native is excited for the opportunity to play a different kind of show.
“Kids from high school to college age is a fun crowd, and I thought it was a really cool idea,” Angelucci said. “A lot of my shows are usually either bigger venues or bar scenes, so it’s excited to kind of do something different. And I think a lot of my songs will relate to the high school and college aged crowd. I think it will be really fun to play that type of show.”
Brady was looking to do something exciting, so when Angelucci’s aunt pitched the idea of the concert, it was received well. But putting all the pieces in place took some time, and the final details weren’t ironed out until less than a month ago.
“We are so thrilled,” Kimball said. “We’ve always wanted to do a show like this, but the cost to get an artist and everything can take away from the revenue we make. But she is doing this for next to nothing for us. It’s an awesome opportunity for us.”
Billerica, Mass., isn’t necessarily a country music hotbed, but that’s where Angelucci got her humble beginnings. She’s been singing “forever” by her own admission and started playing with bands more regularly in 2009. Since then she’s written her own music and ventured out on the solo scene, releasing her debut album, Like It Or Not, in September of last year.
And things have certainly taken off from there. She has been nominated for Country Act of the Year for the 2012 New England Music Awards, with a winner to be announced later this month, taken home the aforementioned video award and is embarking on the Like or Not promotional tour, which includes the June 22 stop at Meadowbrook as the opening act for Rucker, Rodney Atkins and Jana Kramer.
“I’ve always listened to different artists, like Martina McBride and Faith Hill, and going through high school and listening to that kind of music fit who I was and the way I write and who I am as a person and an artist,” Angelucci said. “With country music, you can sing about anything – you can sing about faith, you can sing about love, you can sing about family. It’s kind of all accepted in the genre. And the way songs are expressed just kind of fit who I am.”
She met Skyler, a Maine native who has made an appearance on The X-Factor and held recording sessions with members of Jason Aldean’s band and Sugarland, at her CD release party last fall. Since then she’s become a fan, and it doesn’t hurt that he happens to appeal to a certain demographic sure to make up a large portion of the April 5 audience.
“The high school girls, they love him,” Angelucci said.
General admission tickets for the show are $12.50, or $10 for students with a valid ID or seniors. Tickets are available at Bishop Brady (25 Columbus Ave.), at the UPS Store at 75 S. Main St. or by going online to bishopbrady.edu.
The chance for it to be a memorable night doesn’t stop with the concert, either – Bishop Brady is also raffling off a 2013 Volkswagen Jetta, with raffle tickets going for $10 each (raffle tickets are also available at bishopbrady.com, but there are fewer than 1,000 left). For more information, call 224-7418 or email mkimball@bishopbrady.edu or lprovost@bishopbrady.edu.
It could be an opportunity to say you knew a rising star before she hit the big time. As it is, Angelucci is already splitting her time between Massachusetts and Nashville, where she recorded her album, and the sky certainly appears to be the limit.
“She’s so talented,” Kimball said. “Hopefully we will all be able to say we knew her when, and then maybe when she’s really famous, she’ll come back again for us.”
For what it’s worth, Angelucci doesn’t seem in a rush to forget her roots anytime soon.
“People have come along in my life that have really helped me and supported me and got me to where I am today,” she said. “When I sit back and look at it, it feels great. It can be a struggle, but I’m definitely excited for what’s ahead of me.”
