I recently caught “The Senders” at the Narragansett Café in Jamestown.  “The Senders” are a mostly classic rock and 80s hard rock cover band with some modern covers mixed in. 

I would best describe my first reactions as I watched the five grown men with headbands and baseball caps strap on their guitars as curious and a bit skeptical. But from the very first song to the last song close to 1 a.m., “The Senders” delivered their message of rock with character and a lot of showmanship. 

The lead vocalists, mostly the bassist and rhythm guitarist, built up a fantastic report with the crowd with a lot of personalization and good humor.  The music was tight. The band played mostly note-for-note to the original band’s song with some improvisation. They seemed to really hit their stride on covers from bands like Aerosmith, Golden Earring, and Billy Squire. 

The thought I kept having was that this was a veteran group that has probably forgotten more about playing good music than most of our current pop stars can currently admit to knowing. They played the songs that make average everyday folk tap their toes and shake their hips to the beat, remembering a special time when music was played on 8-tracks or cassette tapes. 

“The Senders” pumped out the music that every bowling alley and pool hall proudly resonates with – classic rock with amazing guitar leads, pulsating drums, funky keyboards, and kick in the mouth vocals.  As a member of the 80s music generation, I was thoroughly entertained. Rock on Senders!!!