Ranky Tanky performs at Johnson STEAM Academy in Cedar Rapids

The Gazette

Sep. 11, 2017 5:39 pm

CEDAR RAPIDS - Harmonies with a mix of Caribbean and African-American influence filled the cafe Monday afternoon at the Johnson STEAM Academy Magnet School in Cedar Rapids as the Legion Arts/CSPS Landfall Festival of World Music officially got underway with a performance by Ranky Tanky of Charleston, S.C.

The band - Charlton Singleton on trumpet, Kevin Hamilton on bass, Clay Ross on guitar, Quentin Baxter on drums and Quiana Parler on lead vocals - is in town this week to perform several times as part of the 10th annual festival, said Mel Andringa, co-director of Legion Arts.

On Monday, their audience was third- through fifth-graders at Johnson STEAM Academy, a concert that Melissa Summers, music and curriculum integration specialist at the school, helped set up to kick off National Arts & Education Week.

Ranky Tanky - one of seven bands in town for the festival - also performs at 7 p.m. Tuesday at CSPS Hall, 1103 Third St. SE; 6 p.m. Thursday at the Cedar Rapids Public Library, 450 Fifth St. SE; and 4 p.m. Friday at NewBo City Market, 1100 Third St. SE. All performances are $10.

Monday's performance tied into Johnson STEAM Academy's yearlong school theme of 'Making Connections” with STEAM - Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics - integration related to grade-level music, social studies and 21st Century skills.

For more information about the Landfall Festival, including a complete schedule of events, go to legionarts.org.

The festival runs through Saturday.

The band Ranky Tanky, of Charleston, S.C., performs a concert on Monday, Sept. 11, for students at the Johnson STEAM Academy in Cedar Rapids. The performance was the official kickoff to the 10th annual Landfall Festival of World Music hosted by Legion Arts. Ranky Tanky is set to perform several more times this week in Cedar Rapids. (Rob Clark/The Gazette)

Trumpet player Charlton Singleton performs with the band Ranky Tanky on Monday, Sept. 11, at Johnson STEAM Academy in Cedar Rapids. Also pictures is drummer Quentin Baxter and lead vocalist Quiana Parler. (Rob Clark/The Gazette)

Quiana Parler, lead vocalist of the band Ranky Tanky, performs Monday, Sept. 11, at Johnson STEAM Academy Magnet School in Cedar Rapids. (Rob Clark/The Gazette)

The band Ranky Tanky, of Charleston, S.C., performs at Johnson STEAM Academy Magnet School, 355 18th St. SE, Cedar Rapids, on Monday, Sept. 11. Band members, from left are Kevin Hamilton on bass, Quentin Baxter on drums, Quiana Parler on vocals and Clay Ross on guitar. (Rob Clark/The Gazette)

A sign at Johnson STEAM Academy Magnet School, 355 18th St. SE, Cedar Rapids, welcomes the band Ranky Tanky to the school on Monday, Sept. 11. (Rob Clark/The Gazette)