TROY, Ala. (TROJANVISION) — Students from across Pike County learned about a timeless music genre thanks to the help of the John Bull Band Friday morning.
Friday morning, students gathered inside Troy University’s Crosby Theater to listen to John Bull and learn the history behind Blues.
“I think it’s a fun fieldtrip for them,” said Jessica Shellhouse, a Goshen elementary math teacher. “It’s a great opportunity that our older generation is pouring into our newer generation. I feel like music and fine arts in school in general are a dying thing as schools don’t want to seem to fund it.
This is a fun way to keep the kids interested in it and to make schools want to fund it more.”
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Bull, a Montgomery artist artist, plays blues, jazz, and soul music across the southeast. Bull, who was inducted into the Alabama Blues Hall of Fame in 2017, has been playing music for over 30 years.
“I love playing for school kids because the music that I love so much, the blues music, is the root of the music they listen to today,” said Bull. “All that music came from the blues and I want that thread to carry on somehow while also reminding me to continue. This is a way for me to try to keep that music alive, keep that thread alive through the change in music.”
Troy Arts Council‘s (TAC) Acting President Maggie Hammond told TrojanVision opportunities like this can set students up for future appreciation for the arts.
“Music is just good for the soul. People say that but it really is true. When you’re feeling down and stressed out listening to music just makes you feel better. Giving that opportunity to kids so they can learn that at a young age that music just makes you feel good.
Whether they grow up to to become music lovers or some of them will have seen a instrument today that they just really want to learn how to play. Maybe they will be in a band when they get older or even make their own band to become musicians. Even if you don’t play music professionally, having it as a hobby that you can go back to is comforting and something that stays with you your whole life.”
Later in the evening, Bull and his band performed in downtown Troy for local residents.
