Menchville Rocks welcomes a new band to the lineup this year- and they’re bringing the jazz.

“Critical Bops” is comprised of a mix of current Menchville students and recent alums, like Jahvin Purnell and Mark Kohlman, who have previously played Menchville Rocks in different jazz bands. The full lineup includes Purnell, Kohlman, Johnny Fabry, Chandler Mullins, Tony Sallez, and Robert Wolf.

Said Wolf on the band’s formation, “We’re kind of just a bunch of people who wanted to play music, so we got together.” He continued, “Jahvin organized all of it. It became a thing- we played every other week or so over the summer.”

Critical Bops describes their style as “jazz fusion,” drawing influence from jazz and reggae styles. For Menchville Rocks, they plan to play “Blood Money” by 10 Foot Ganja Plant, as well as a few other songs that are currently “up in the air,” as Wolf puts it. The band will also debut an untitled original song, which draws on the group members’ ability to compose.

Together, the members of Critical Bops have been playing as a band for about 6 months. Though this is their first Menchville performance, they have done a few public performances around Hilton Village. With first performance nerves long gone, the group feels “pretty confident” heading into Menchville Rocks.

Come see Critical Bops and other Menchville musicians at Menchville Rocks on Thursday, February 27 at 6:30 pm in the Menchville auditorium.