The first Taunton Sessions of the year happened on the evening of Thursday 9th October. The theatre was an appropriately atmospheric venue for an evening of contemporary pop and rock music, featuring covers of songs by The Cranberries, Radiohead, Lauryn Hill, Niall Horan, alongside originals by students.

The event kicked off with the Junior Rock Band performing two iconic 90s songs in ‘Zombie’ and ‘Creep’. Following this, Kat (Year 13) performed a brand new song by Jessica Mazin and accompanied herself on guitar, before Hazel (Year 10) treated the audience to a powerful rendition of ‘Home’ from Beauty and the Beast. Ella and Kaya (both Year 13) were next to the stage accompanied by Ms Ellis and Dr Reading and performed beautiful duets in ‘This Town’ by Niall Horan and ‘The Hudson’ by The Favors.

Elsenne (Year 13) showcased her vocal talents in performances of Adele’s ‘Make You Feel My Love’ and Emeli Sande’s ‘Read All About It’ before Xavia (Year 10) introduced the audience to two heartfelt original songs ‘P.M.A.’ and ‘Invisible’.

Finally, the 13-piece Funk Band took to the stage and presented two numbers to round out the evening. The first was Lauryn Hill’s ‘Doo-wap’ and the second Wild Cherry’s toe-tapping classic ‘Play That Funky Music’.