School is out, and this year we went out with a bang!

The day before the final day of school, I put on a mini-concert for my team of students. And a good number of my former students who were 8th graders also attended. The concert grew out of numerous students asking me to perform my songs in class. I would always decline the requests without hesitation. It wasn’t the proper time or place. Eventually, though, I realized the last week of school—when we’re always looking for engaging activities—might be the perfect opportunity.

From my perspective, the performance felt rough. The auditorium wasn’t designed for a hip-hop concert, and without stage monitors, I struggled to hear the music and occasionally lost my place. But the students never noticed. They were too busy jumping, screaming, and singing the songs right along with me. It was amazing. The energy in the room was electric. It was twenty minutes of controlled chaos, worthy of an end-of-the-year celebration.

Here are a few of the messages students left afterward:

“Just enjoy it Mr. Jones, it feels like a party every day”

“The concert was lit Dr. J, but I think you should have crowd surfed”

“Concert was lit…”

“Mr. Jones is the best rapper”

I don’t know about that last quote, but I’ll assume he got caught up in the moment.

Beyond the compliments and excitement, the concert revealed something even more important: a vision I’d been developing for years might actually work. Back in 2019, I imagined walking onto a stage for an author visit with music blasting, dancers moving, and teenagers engaged before I ever began talking about a book. This concert gave me a glimpse of what that vision could look like in reality.

Watching more than a hundred teenagers sing along reminded me why music can be such a powerful educational tool. It captures attention, creates emotional connections, and helps students engage with ideas in ways that traditional approaches sometimes can’t. And each song had meaningful messages or themes that uplifted positivity amid the negativity and troubles we often see in our world, and in many ways in the world of music.

Twenty-five years after my last concert, I stood on a stage surrounded by screaming teenagers, watching them sing along to songs connected to books I’d written. For twenty minutes, I caught a glimpse of the future I’d imagined back in 2019. And for the first time, it felt less like a dream and more like a plan coming to life.