Nov. 6, 2024
Ferris State professor Daniel Atwood recalls years of working with legendary rock musicians in Nov. 24 fundraiser for revitalized marching band
Professor Daniel Atwood has performed with some of the biggest names in show business and will be highlighting music from those artists to raise money for his next group of performers: The Ferris State University Marching Band.
Associate Professor of Music Matt Moresi is shown here on the keyboard.
Atwood and a group of Ferris State faculty members and alumni performing music from rock and roll’s early days in a Nov. 24 fundraiser at Williams Auditorium, 630 S. Michigan Ave. Tickets are $5 for community members and Ferris State students can attend by giving any donation amount and showing their student ID.
All proceeds will be used to offset the costs for the marching band, which is planned to take the field in fall 2025.
Atwood brings a variety of professional experiences to flavor his role in restoring the on-field musical presence at Ferris football games, which includes performing with members of The Temptations, Davy Jones and Mickey Dolenz of The Monkees, The Contours and many others.
“I’ve been blessed with a career that includes performing with legends of American popular music,” Atwood said. “Professor Dan Cronk and I decided to put together a band called Vintage Vibes and do a concert that features music from some of those greats. This will be a fun concert of music from the 1950s, ‘60s, and ‘70s and again feature some of the ‘big names’ we’ve performed with over the years. We will have music from The Temptations, The Monkees, The Drifters, some soul, R&B, blues, and even ‘doo-wop’ from the Del-Vikings.
Atwood said the setlist will be familiar to listeners of all ages because so much of this music has stood the test of time and is used in soundtracks, commercials, or are recordings that audiences still have in their own play lists. It has been great working with the guys in Vintage Vibes to bring this show to life.”
Other members of the group ready to perform in the fundraiser include Music faculty Matt Moresi on keyboards and Cronk on bass. They will be joined by Maxwell Griffith, a Ferris State alumnus working in the university’s Financial Aid office on drums and fellow alumnus Zach Potter, who will play guitar.
Cronk said the performance is an enjoyable and welcome departure from their instructional work.
“We are all from the Ferris faculty, or family,” Cronk said. “Getting together to play and support the marching band is beyond fun.”
Atwood said the concert develops financial resources to help re-establish the Ferris State Marching Band, which has been on hiatus for decades. But the collaborating with the other artists gives him a chance to re-live great moments from his career and take the audience on a walk down memory lane through the revival of this musical genre.
“I remember talking with The Contours, a Motown band that had a 1980s comeback when ‘Dirty Dancing’ included ‘Do You Love Me?’ in its soundtrack,” Daniel said. ‘Being around groups like these was a fantastic experience as they imparted firsthand knowledge about the music business and talked about their experiences though the ebb and flow of their careers.”
Anyone with a disability who needs special accommodations to attend this program must contact 231-591-5863 or email Williams Auditorium at least 72 hours in advance of the event.