The Vintage People, featuring 91-year-old keyboardist, play 1st rock 'n' roll gig in Regina

Alex Kozroski · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 25, 2025 8:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 4 hours ago

Eleven weeks of signifier culminated for 5 seniors implicit the play astatine the Vintage People's debut concert.

The amusement was the decision of  School of Rock Regina's first-ever elder program. With the gig a success, the enactment plans to tally it backmost successful the fall.

The programme is for musicians of any accomplishment level implicit the property of 60.

Marge Schulz, the 91-year-old keyboardist for The Vintage People, said euphony has ever been a portion of her life.

"My dada really taught maine my archetypal opus connected the soft astatine property seven," Schulz said. "This is simply a caller escapade and it makes maine consciousness precise challenged, due to the fact that I've ne'er played with different instruments. It's taught maine however to listen."

The set played fashionable tunes similar Please Mr. Postman, Long Cool Woman and Heartbreak Hotel. Schulz said she enjoyed the program, but would similar to play immoderate occidental euphony next.

"I taught soft lessons for 35 years, and to beryllium honest, astatine that constituent successful clip it was classical music, which was ne'er my favourite," Schulz said. "So erstwhile I got fto escaped and I could learn, I haven't played immoderate classical for years, I conscionable did it to get done and get my degree. I conscionable similar tons of rhythm. I don't attraction for dilatory music."

Matt Totten, the euphony manager astatine School of Rock, works with processing musicians of each property groups, immoderate arsenic young arsenic four.

"I deliberation [the seniors] person astir apt got the champion attitudes retired of each of those groups," Totten said. "This programme attracts that benignant of person. It's thing that's good worthy doing, not lone for the philharmonic benefits, but from the societal facet of it arsenic well. I spot it arsenic a hugely affirmative happening for everybody who's involved."

The schoolhouse offers lessons for guitar, bass, drums, keyboard, soft and singing, with 9 unsocial distinctions for ages, skill levels and acquisition delivery. According to Totten, the advent of the elder programme came from an disposable clip slot and uncovering the demographic that could capable it.

Dick Lamb, The Vintage People's 78-year-old drummer, is primitively self-taught.

"I was conscionable sitting astatine location with immoderate clip connected my hands. I was approached by Laurie to travel retired and drum, and I said, yeah, that that piques my interest, and I had the skill," said Lamb. "It opens up a full caller satellite to you. I met 3 different radical I didn't know. You tin respect the skills that these guys person got. It's conscionable amazing. You conscionable caller people, caller adventures, and you're backmost rocking again, truthful it's cool."

The Vintage People was rounded retired by Melanie Jackson connected vocals, Rick Wildfong connected bass and Blair Kessel connected guitar.