Some rain did not stop the Stratford concert Saturday night; instead, the band played their fundraising gig underneath tents and the show went on. The band was raising money for leukemia and the turnout led to a large donation for the cause.

The band consists of Ryan Kowalski, bassist; Declan O’Conner, lead vocals; Jason Krasavage, guitarist; and Anthony Powles, drummer. Kowalski, Krasavage, and O’Conner all graduated this spring, but Powles is a junior. Saturday was Stratford’s first gig. According to Powles, Stratford’s name comes from the street that he lives on.

“[The show] was pretty good,” Powles said. “There were a lot more people than we expected because on the Facebook page, it said a hundred people were going, so we thought only a fraction of that would go, but we think over a hundred twenty-five, a hundred fifty people actually came.”

The turnout was greater than expected, and even some bad weather did not deter concert-goers. The band solved the problem and everyone had a great time, according to Sara Panczyk, junior.

“They spent so much time actually planning this event,” Panczyk, said. “It worked out even with the rain. It was really fun anyway. We were meeting new people, and listening to Colin, who was DJing, and then Matt Wang was after him, singing, and then Stratford came on for the last hour. We just listened, talked, and hung out with friends.”

“Because of the amount of people who came, I think we raised about a thousand dollars,” Powles said. “Considering we raised so much money, I think it went terrific. I couldn’t be any happier. I was really satisfied with everything that happened. The band had a good time and everyone who came had a good time.”

The band hopes to do more gigs through the summer before the older boys go to college.

“I think we’ll have other musician friends of ours perform with us at a show,” Powles said. “I think we will definitely try to have more fundraisers, because we should definitely try to raise money for good causes. So many people were wills to donate; it was awesome!”