IBEW convention delegates and guests were treated to a musical extravaganza that left ears ringing with the sounds of pipes, drums, violins and custom rock vocals.
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Attendees enjoyed performances from two pipe and drum bands, the IBEW LED Drummers and more.
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“I thought the show was very exciting,” said Newark, N.J., Local 1158 member George Serio. “It got the members motivated and really woke them up.”
Attendees were treated to two performances from pipe and drum bands, one from New York Local 3’s “Sword of Light” and the other from the Toronto Highlanders Band, with each escorting their nations’ colors into the hall for live performances of the national anthems. Local performer Jim Cornelison sang the “Star Spangled Banner” as he has for 20-plus years at Chicago Blackhawks home games, and Ottawa Local 586 member Brett McClean sang “O Canada” while playing guitar.
The pipe and drum portions were a favorite of Toledo, Ohio, Local 8 member Scott Diefenbach.
“I always love drums and bag pipes,” he said.
Drumming fans were dazzled by the IBEW LED Drummers, a group of about 15 musicians decked out in yellow safety vests and playing on drums glowing blue with LED lights. They started out on stage, then moved into the crowd as they finished.
The drummers were joined by Bella Electric Strings, a four-woman violin group that has performed worldwide, including with Beyoncé, Shakira and Andrea Bocelli. They did an instrumental version of Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing” while wearing hardhats and other safety gear.
“It was nice to see the violinists, especially since they were all women,” said Judith Hermosillo, a convention guest. “And the drummers added a little swag.”
She described the ceremony as, “bright, neon, fun and diverse.”
Hermosillo also liked the following portion of the event when the Milwaukee Toolshed Band’s lead singer Alyson Harms, who also performed Saturday at the picnic celebration, joined the violinists on stage for a version of Starship’s, “We Built This City,” that changed some of the lyrics to include the names of International President Lonnie R. Stephenson and International Secretary-Treasurer Kenneth Cooper.
“It was a good blend of rock-and-roll,” she said.
Serio said the IBEW version of “We Built This City,” “was very appropriate since this city was, in fact, built on union labor.”
For Topeka, Kan., Local 304 delegate Charlie Willard, the violinists were the highlight of a good show overall.
“I really liked the violins,” he said. “These shows are always pretty neat, and a little bit different.”