Photo: Ben Lambert / Hearst Connecticut Media
St. Anthony School Principal Lou Howe put on a Christian rock concert for students Friday afternoon in Winsted.
St. Anthony School Principal Lou Howe put on a Christian rock concert for students Friday afternoon in Winsted.
Photo: Ben Lambert / Hearst Connecticut Media
St. Anthony School Principal Lou Howe put on a Christian rock concert for students Friday afternoon in Winsted.
St. Anthony School Principal Lou Howe put on a Christian rock concert for students Friday afternoon in Winsted.
Photo: Ben Lambert / Hearst Connecticut Media /
St. Anthony School Principal Lou Howe put on a Christian rock concert for students Friday afternoon in Winsted.
St. Anthony School Principal Lou Howe put on a Christian rock concert for students Friday afternoon in Winsted.
Photo: Ben Lambert / Hearst Connecticut Media
St. Anthony School Principal Lou Howe put on a Christian rock concert for students Friday afternoon in Winsted.
St. Anthony School Principal Lou Howe put on a Christian rock concert for students Friday afternoon in Winsted.
Photo: Ben Lambert / Hearst Connecticut Media
St. Anthony School Principal Lou Howe put on a Christian rock concert for students Friday afternoon in Winsted.
St. Anthony School Principal Lou Howe put on a Christian rock concert for students Friday afternoon in Winsted.
Photo: Ben Lambert / Hearst Connecticut Media
St. Anthony School Principal Lou Howe put on a Christian rock concert for students Friday afternoon in Winsted.
St. Anthony School Principal Lou Howe put on a Christian rock concert for students Friday afternoon in Winsted.
Photo: Ben Lambert / Hearst Connecticut Media
St. Anthony School Principal Lou Howe put on a Christian rock concert for students Friday afternoon in Winsted.
St. Anthony School Principal Lou Howe put on a Christian rock concert for students Friday afternoon in Winsted.
Photo: Ben Lambert / Hearst Connecticut Media
St. Anthony School Principal Lou Howe put on a Christian rock concert for students Friday afternoon in Winsted.
St. Anthony School Principal Lou Howe put on a Christian rock concert for students Friday afternoon in Winsted.
Photo: Ben Lambert / Hearst Connecticut Media
St. Anthony School Principal Lou Howe put on a Christian rock concert for students Friday afternoon in Winsted.
St. Anthony School Principal Lou Howe put on a Christian rock concert for students Friday afternoon in Winsted.
Photo: Ben Lambert / Hearst Connecticut Media
St. Anthony School Principal Lou Howe put on a Christian rock concert for students Friday afternoon in Winsted.
St. Anthony School Principal Lou Howe put on a Christian rock concert for students Friday afternoon in Winsted.
Photo: Ben Lambert / Hearst Connecticut Media
St. Anthony School Principal Lou Howe put on a Christian rock concert for students Friday afternoon in Winsted.
St. Anthony School Principal Lou Howe put on a Christian rock concert for students Friday afternoon in Winsted.
Photo: Ben Lambert / Hearst Connecticut Media
St. Anthony School Principal Lou Howe put on a Christian rock concert for students Friday afternoon in Winsted.
St. Anthony School Principal Lou Howe put on a Christian rock concert for students Friday afternoon in Winsted.
Photo: Ben Lambert / Hearst Connecticut Media
St. Anthony School Principal Lou Howe put on a Christian rock concert for students Friday afternoon in Winsted.
St. Anthony School Principal Lou Howe put on a Christian rock concert for students Friday afternoon in Winsted.
Photo: Ben Lambert / Hearst Connecticut Media
St. Anthony School Principal Lou Howe put on a Christian rock concert for students Friday afternoon in Winsted.
St. Anthony School Principal Lou Howe put on a Christian rock concert for students Friday afternoon in Winsted.
Photo: Ben Lambert / Hearst Connecticut Media
St. Anthony School Principal Lou Howe put on a Christian rock concert for students Friday afternoon in Winsted.
St. Anthony School Principal Lou Howe put on a Christian rock concert for students Friday afternoon in Winsted.
Photo: Ben Lambert / Hearst Connecticut Media
St. Anthony School Principal Lou Howe put on a Christian rock concert for students Friday afternoon in Winsted.
St. Anthony School Principal Lou Howe put on a Christian rock concert for students Friday afternoon in Winsted.
Photo: Ben Lambert / Hearst Connecticut Media
Winsted students rock out to a Christian message in celebration of fundraising goal
WINSTED — The familiar strains of rock and roll hits roared through the St. Anthony School Friday. Smoke filled the air, colored lights flashed, and an adoring crowd cheered and leapt in excitement.
Principal Lou Howe, performing as the Disciples of Christ, put on a Christian rock concert Friday for the student body, celebrating their recent fundraising effort for the annual rock-a-thon.
Howe, clad in a blonde wig, tight pants and sunglasses, sang a number of tweaked versions of classic rock favorites with new lyrics and themes - AC/DC’s “TNT” became “DOC,” for example — offering a Christian twist on the hits.
Students jumped up and down, cheered, and waved glow sticks and inflatable guitars in the hazy air, with some coming on stage to offer their own “solos” as backing tracks pumped through the speakers.
As the show came to an end and they filed out of the room, a chant came up from the students - “Mr. Howe, Mr. Howe.”
Howe said after the show that he had been performing as the Disciples of Christ for more than 10 years, coming to the idea as a way of evangelizing to young people and praising God.
“That’s what this is about — praising the Lord,” said Howe.
The students raised more than $15,000 for the walkathon to earn the show, he said.
He said he hoped the young people took away the idea that God can be found anywhere — in music, art, and their studies.
“Hopefully, they can hear Christ through the music,” said Howe.
This is not the first time the school has come together to celebrate success in raising funds for the walkathon. In Oct. 2016, the Rev. Chris Gaffrey sat in front of a boisterous group of students to be shaved, giving up his beard to celebrate the students’ raising more than $12,000 for the annual event.
william.lambert@hearstmediact.com
