By Megan Drummond
The zombie apocalypse is coming! On Oct. 26, Main Street in Fitchburg will be hosting Zombieburg for the night. After the sun sets at 7 p.m, (prime-time zombie hours) the dead will be set free. Starting at Old City Hall, the parade of zombies and friends will be shuffling down Main Street. They will travel to the upper common, where a band will gather in the gazebo for a free performance at 8 p.m. The after-party starts at 10 p.m. at a nearby bar called the Boulder.
For Zombieburg, the band Wil Darcangelo and The Tribe will be playing music while dressed up in zombie attire. A member of the band, Danielle Maloughney, encourages people to go to this event because the live music combined with the costumes will make for a performance to remember. And spoiler alert- the zombie-tribe will be performing the “Monster Mash,”just for the Halloween occasion.
The band is an independent social-enterprise rock band founded by professional vocalist and songwriter Wil Darcangelo. Largely made up of high school students, it is mentored by adults and has goals that go beyond making music. “I hope to inspire people and I hope to empower them,” Darcangelo said. “I am more than happy to be returning the favor for the inspiration and empowerment they have gifted to me.” He said he benefits from the collaboration as well, noting, “I need to create a constant stream of opportunities to express my ideas and sounds in ways that satisfy my creativity.”
Tribe members want to do more than entertain – they aim to help others through their music. A third of all proceeds from the sales of Tribe music and merchandise are put back into their community in the forms of grants, scholarships, community projects and venture capital for local industry, Darcangelo said. “I think my desire to serve is fed by an actual need to feel the same level of acceptance, approval and empowerment from my community that I try to provide my students,” he said.
The Tribe always welcomes new members. “The band is like a family and no one judges you…we all support one another and we always tell jokes to make each other laugh,” says Maloughney.
Advice and guidance are part of the support that Tribe members share. “I try to teach the Tribe that life comes at us in waves. We can be either driftwood or we can be surfboard,” Dacarangelo said. And Darcangelo’s lessons leave a lasting impression. Conner Moynihan, a Holy Cross student, says, “I never forgot my interactions with [Darcangelo] when I was 8 years old…and that was 12 years ago.”
Moynihan encourages people to go to Zombieburg because “anyone attending the performance will surely experience [Decarangelo’s] beautiful soul…it is an experience worth having.”
