On Saturday 26 September Showroom hosts a rock ‘n’ roll cine-show, with the classic musical-comedy Grease, followed by an in-screen performance from Highway Child!
Previously, the band has delivered groovy tunes from The Blues Brothers, surf rock classics of Pulp Fiction and Dirty Dancing ballads. Now we invite audiences to dance in the aisles to Grease’s soundtrack of feelgood rock anthems.
Barry Gibb and Frankie Valli’s title track, duets from John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John and Sha Na Na’s doo-wop are just some of the hits to expect this month. To find out more about what’s in store, we spoke to Ryan Wilson, lead vocalist, and Steve Kay, keyboardist and vocalist, about Grease + Highway Child Live!
Q: What can first time audiences expect from a Showroom x Highway Child collab?
Steve: “I love every time these shows come around, they’re brilliant. I think they offer quite a unique evening for audiences. We start with the film, then the band comes on.”
Ryan: “They’ve always turned out with a real high-energy… because the films themselves are all great musicals, people are worked up to dance immediately when we start playing.”
Steve: “It’s kind of a crossover event, which I always enjoy. Whether that’s like watching a film in the open air, or with a live band, it adds a real festival element and just feels like a party for us.”
Q: Are you excited about the soundtrack?
Ryan: “While we’re a classic soul band, we like to pick up a few songs from each film we play and the wider genre. Grease is the furthest away from what we usually play genre-wise, but we can’t wait to bring it all together, with some surprise hits and some favourites throughout the setlist.”
Steve: “Yeah it’s always exciting for us to adapt and enter new areas we don’t usually play live. These films, especially for us older millennials, they’re films we’ve grown up with, songs we’ve grown up with and we love to bring that to life.”
Ryan: “And of course, this is a film with two main characters. We won't be dropping any spoilers to say we'll be playing the two main characters… I'll be Danny and Steve will be Sandy."
Steve: "Oh, [laughs] have we decided that?"
Ryan: “[laughing] Yeah we have now."
Grease + Highway Child Live starts 18.30 on Saturday 26 September. Get your ticket today at: https://showroomcinema.org.uk/film/grease-highway-child-live
By Nathan Makalena, Creative Coordinator
Paternoster Row, Sheffield City Centre, Sheffield S1 2BX
Bike racks, nearby tram parking, tram and bus access
