Bulli High School students are getting ready to transport the community back to the '80s with their Friday night concert. From Van Halen to Cyndi Lauper, 30 students will be performing the top hits from the decade. The students from Years 7 to 12 will perform at the school hall on December 1 with some local music legends. Year 12 student Kai Rennie is excited to perform with a member of his favourite band Mental As Anything. He is playing bass guitar to 'Live it Up' with the former band member Zolton Budai. "[Zolton]'s also an amazing music director, and I get to sing one of his songs with him there," Kai said. Ciaran Gribbin and Russell Webster (Shining Bird) will also be performing on the night with the students. Kai said his love for '80s music is influenced by his parents music collection. "I'm looking forward to being able to take people back to their era of music," he said. The ambitious and talented students will perform under the watchful eyes of musicians and record labels, Bulli teacher David Strange said. "[Students] know that these gigs are serious in the sense that they are being watched by the artist and repertoire of a record label," Mr Strange said. Students have been working with local music legends for a mentorship as part of the school's Multiverse Challenge. Many students in the group wrote an original song with the help of Wollongong record label Farmer and The Owl, which was established by Music Farmers co-owner Jeb Taylor and Yours & Owls founding partner Ben Tillman. "It's not the actual 1980's when a school concert was played with a triangle in your school uniform. Now it's [an audience of] 500 people, 100 decibels and the pressure to entertain," Mr Strange said. Year nine student Jesse Blanch is looking forward to performing Nirvanas' song 'About a Girl'. Spending time after school in the music room has been a dream come true for the 14-year-old who is a big fan of bands like Van Halen, The Clash, and Nirvana. Bulli teacher Mr Strange believes the atmosphere during the '80s is actually pretty similar to the current decade. "The eighties is more relevant today than any time since 1989. Kids live in a wholly similar era of global change, the threat of world war, an ageing US president and the rise of artificial intelligence," Mr Strange said. The community are encouraged to arrive at the concert in their best '80s outfits and ready to dance. The concert is at the high school at 6.30pm on Friday, December 1 and tickets can be bought online. Food trucks will be available from 5.30pm with DJ Brad Colley spinning '80s hits.
