Top Band Talk Mental Health

Top Band Talk Mental Health

Students at Ormiston Forge Academy in Cradley Heath were treated to a special performance from rock band THE HARA during mental health awareness week.

The band visited the school to deliver a performance for students and also to discuss important issues including mental health.

They played in assemblies to over 1,000 students and spoke about a lot of issues like being safe online, using social media sensibly, body image and dealing with stress.

The band is made up of frontman Josh Taylor, guitarist Zack Breen and drummer Jack Kennedy and they formed the group in 2017.

‘Made To Be’ from their debut EP achieved #2 in the official iTunes Alternative Single Charts and the band have already completed three headline tours. The most recent EP, ‘Tramp Brain’ peaked at #3 in the iTunes Rock Charts in September 2019. Although comprising just three live instruments, the band give a full live sound through the use of pads, triggers and stems, emulating thirty instruments whilst on stage.

The band is touring extensively throughout the country in April and May and will be appearing at a number of festivals in the summer including Reading & Leeds, Download and Tramlines.

All band members had issues when they were younger and they encouraged students to seek support and help from friends, family, and school staff during challenging times. Most importantly they encouraged everyone to be kind to one another.

A spokesperson for the band said: “We were delighted to be invited into Forge during mental health awareness week to play some music and share our journey. Our messages of looking after people and being kind are universal.

“There’s a lot of stigma attached to mental health and we’re here to break barriers down in an open and honest way. Forge students were incredible, we had a really good day with them.”