Blogs

Among the weekend events honoring Martin Luther King Jr. was a cool outing at House of Blues. Everyone knows that Lansdowne Street venue as a busy nightspot where adults can catch hot concert acts. But this was a show for a different audience that goes by the light of day, because kids can get both entertainment and education at HOB.

About 600 Boston Public School students hit the club Friday morning for the International House of Blues Foundation’s third annual “To the Mountaintop” celebration of Dr. King. They bounced out of folding chairs to sing, dance and cheer to performances from their classmates as well as guest narrators and the IHOBF-Boston Blues SchoolHouse Band.

SchoolHouse Band singers MaryBeth Maes and Katani Sumner alternated narrative history with music that related to the civil rights leader’s life and times, including a stirring take on the Aretha Franklin hit “Respect.” HOB Foundation Room concierge Nikki DiGuilio, chef Nicholas Wilson and accountant Anthony McBrayer even shared their alternate talents as singers, delivering a soulful “Lean on Me.”

“We do so many wonderful things,” IHOBF-Boston Program Manager Jenny Nardone said, “but it happens so early in the morning that nobody [else] sees them.”

Indeed, the MLK celebration is just one of many events put on by the IHOBF, now in its second full year at the Boston club. Through the school year, the SchoolHouse Band hosts Tuesday morning programs that are free for Boston Public School students –- and $10 per student for other schools and community groups.

The program outlines the history of the blues, from its roots in Africa to its imprint on today’s popular music, such as rock, soul and hip-hop, relative to historical events such as the Atlantic slave trade and the civil rights movement.

Visual arts workshops are also available  on Thursday mornings, offering a tour of folk-art works mounted on the walls of the club and hands-on activities based on the work of a given artist.

For info: ihobfboston@livenation.com