Mustang Sally to play Tree Lighting concert (12 photos)

Mustang Sally - Korah Collegiate and Vocational School’s own student pop/rock group - is looking forward to warming up the audience at The Sault Ste. Marie Downtown Association Moonlight Magic event and Community Tree Lighting celebration on Thursday evening.

The group performed regularly at that event before COVID-19 came along.

“We’re really happy to be a part of it again,” said Greg Ryckman, Korah Collegiate music teacher, speaking to SooToday at a band rehearsal at Korah on Tuesday.

The 2022-23 school year is the first full back to normal year for students since the pandemic first struck.

That means a return to more live gigs for the band.  

“Everyone seems happy to be back and we’re looking forward to getting on the live stage again,” Ryckman said of the Community Tree Lighting celebration, which is Mustang Sally’s first major live concert appearance of the school year.

Ryckman said the group will be performing songs such as Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree, Jingle Bell Rock and Santa Claus Is Coming to Town with a pop feel to them.

The group begins their performance downtown at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, the Community Tree Lighting starting at 7 p.m. in front of the courthouse.

“We typically do our gigs here at Korah,” Ryckman said.

“There’s usually a big one at Christmas time and we have our big annual spring concert here. Every second year we have a tour year, and this is a tour year. We usually do a southern Ontario loop after playing northern towns first, like Chapleau, Wawa and Sudbury, then go to Barrie, Toronto, London, Kitchener or Ottawa.”

“It’s a real tour. It really is. Greig Nori from Treble Charger came on tour with us one year and he said it was one of the best tours he was ever on in his career. He said this is no joke, this is the real deal,” Ryckman said.

Formed by Ryckman in 2002, Mustang Sally’s lineup changes partially each year as Korah’s students graduate from high school, and since its creation the group has given many top-notch performances both locally and elsewhere in Ontario, with some of its past members now music industry professionals.   

“I love being onstage. It’s addicting having that stage presence to yourself. I love it so much,” said Carys Hernden, one of three Mustang Sally vocalists.

Hernden has already graduated from Grade 12, currently earning some extra credits and planning for university.

“This is my first year in Mustang Sally. I did theatre throughout high school and I’m still in theatre now but this year I decided to go in with Mustang Sally because I have the time for it. I like being able to entertain, and because my family will usually be in the audience, I want to make sure they’re proud of me. Making them proud is one of the most important things to me.”

Hernden, like her bandmates, is enjoying the current back to normal school year.

“I spent half of Grade 10 and all of Grade 11 at home doing online schooling, so being able to come back here and go back to normal is amazing.”

“The energy in the building is incredible,” said Steve Caruso, Korah Collegiate principal.

“It’s not just music, it’s theatre, our clubs, our sports teams celebrating in person their games and championships. The energy in the building is electric again and that’s what school’s all about. We’ll keep our fingers crossed about masking and we’ll do what we have to do but hopefully the kids will be able to participate in all the extracurriculars.”

If you’re an artsy student, vocalist Hernden’s message to younger students is ‘go for it.’

“If you have a rock band at your school, an instrumental concert band, a theatre, a choir, get involved because a lot more opportunities will arise from that and you can hopefully get noticed by others in the field. I’m deeply grateful to my band mates that they’ve been welcoming towards me because I’m new.”