Ironbound Community Corp to Benefit From Concert

Sam Levine, a Renaissance Middle School seventh-grader, will present a concert benefiting the after-school program of Ironbound Community Corporation (ICC), a services and community development organization in Newark. The concert will take place on Sunday in Montclair's Watchung Plaza, at the corner of Watchung Ave. and Park Street in Montclair from 2 to 4 p.m. 

“I’ve put on some performances for the kids at ICC, and I really enjoyed it,” said Sam, who’s also a music student at School of Rock Montclair. “I decided to organize a concert to raise money for them and also to see if I could eventually help to get musical instruments donated so they can have their own music program there.”

Sam connected with ICC as a part of the preparation for his bar mitzvah ceremony at Montclair’s Bnai Keshet Synagogue, which will take place in June. A component of Bnai Keshet’s bar mitzvah program is for the congregation’s boys and girls to initiate and complete a project that’s a “mitzvah” (the Hebrew word for good deed) to help heal the world.

“Sam has done shows for around 100 of our kids, and they loved it — they thought he was a rock star!” said Joseph Della Fave, Executive Director of ICC. “He’s a very impressive young man, and his generous effort to support us with his artistic aspirations speaks so much about his work ethic as well as his good citizenship.”

Sam’s band, A Little Louder, will perform at the event, and is comprised of Sam on guitar, Becky Crosby (vocals/drums, 7th grade at Renaissance), Jonah Brumbach (vocals/bass, 6th grade at Renaissance), and Owen Weiss (drums) from School of Rock Montclair.

Several other School of Rock student bands will also participate in the fundraising show. 

“We love having students who use their talent and passion for music to serve the community,” said Matt Sandoski, owner of School of Rock Montclair, which is donating the usage of the school’s audio equipment for Sam’s concert. “Sam’s one of our top rockers, and his civic-mindedness has always been impressive. We’re enthusiastic supporters of his very admirable efforts.”

Pizza and baked goods will be sold at the concert, with all proceeds benefitting ICC. Watchung Booksellers will donate $5 off coupons to attendees who contribute to ICC.