Ft. Washington School of Rock to Perform at Fresh Ground

will hold its monthly free, public coffee house and live-entertainment event tonight, starting at 8 p.m.

Fresh Ground, which takes place in the basement of the ,  has come to be known by many in the area as a place to showcase great, local musical talent.

“Many coffee houses have just one kind of music, but Fresh Ground Coffee House has always been about reaching our entire community,” Kim Ruby, Fresh Ground Coffee House director, said in an e-mail. “By showcasing music that appeals to all ages on our fourth-Friday events on a rotating basis, we believe you'll always hear something you really like!”

According to Ruby, one of the hallmarks of the coffee house is its appeal to all ages.

As a testament to that appeal, tonight’s featured musical act will be nearly 30 students from the F.

"This Friday, we invite our community to support these enthusiastic music students and their hard work by coming out to "coffee house" and cheering them on," Ruby said.

“At the School of Rock, we're dedicated to providing more than just the ability to play an instrument well, we are determined to instill a love, passion, and appreciation for our favorite type of artistic expression, music, that these kids will keep with them the rest of their lives,” Jim Love, Fort Washington School of Rock music director, said in an e-mail. “I applaud the Fresh Ground Coffee House for helping to foster and create the same thing.”

According to Love, the Fort Washington School of Rock is the 17th  School of Rock to be opened, with over 70 locations nation wide.

The original school was founded in 1998 in Philadelphia, originally named, “The Paul Green School of Rock Music,” whose founder is the inspiration of the Jack Black movie, “School of Rock.”

Love has been the music director at the Fort Washington School of Rock since its opening in 2007.

At the Feb. 24 Fresh Ground Coffee, 16 members of the Fort Washington’s School of Rock’s House Band and 10 members of its junior house band will perform. He said that these students are provided the opportunity to learn a wide-ranging set of challenging, entertaining music, of which they perform in public in a professional level.

“These groups are select groups made up of some of our most talented and most dedicated students,” Love said.

According to Love, these students perform approximately 15 gigs a year, perform an annual summer tour (Boston, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, as well as in England).

“One of the things we love most about playing music is that connection you make with the audience,” Love said. “There’s no feeling like being on stage and having 10, 25, 50, hundreds of people feeding off your energy and being moved in some way by the art you experience.”

Love said that the students will be looking forward to adding Fresh Ground to their long list of performance venues.

“This will be my first time at the Fresh Ground, but everyone I’ve told about our gig there has raved about the place and the scene they are trying to develop,” Love said. “So, I’m excited about doing what we can to help!”

“Music is such an important part of everyone’s lives,” Love added. “Especially kids.”

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For more information on Fresh Ground Coffee House, visit their Facebook page.

For more information about Fort Washington School of Rock, visit http://fortwashington.schoolofrock.com/ or like them on Facebook.

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Next month, Fresh Ground Coffee House will feature Upper Moreland resident John Burkhauser and his band, "Second Chance".