Reuel and a large cast of special guests, including Kaleem Kheshgi, a senior, and Kimberly Glick, a Goshen College alumna, will take the stage for a final concert on Friday beginning at 7 p.m. at the downtown Goshen Theater.

A special limited edition “Best of JRL” CD will be available only at the concert on a first-come, first-served basis. Each CD case was individually created by Reuel’s friends to mark the occasion.

Kansas Bible Company, a student band, and Wilson’s Reservoir, local independent country act, will open for JRL.

Tickets for the concert are $10, which are currently available at the Electric Brew and will also be sold at the door the night of the event.

The Minor Profits and Grooveside, both local bands, will perform from 6-9 p.m. at the Goshen Theater. Those looking for a more interactive night of music can attend swing dance lessons given by the Goshen College Swing Club from 7-8 p.m. at the Spohn Ballroom at 109 E. Clinton St. Lessons will be followed by a concert and dancing with the Kelly Jay Band from 8-11 p.m.

Wayne Harshberger, a local stone sculptor, will unveil his latest project in front of the Shutterhugs building on 132 S. Main St. at 6:30 p.m.

For the second time this year First Friday activities will spill into Saturday, this time with the spring version of the Goshen Open Studio tour. The tour features the work of local artists and galleries from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. on Saturday.

New World Arts will launch their new monthly improvisational comedy series “Improv Battle Royale (with cheese),” with a family-friendly performance at 7:00 p.m. and an “Adult Only Limburger” round at 9:00 p.m.

Based on shows such as “Whose Line is it Anyway?” and “Comedy Sportz,” New World’s improv performances will feature local actors competing against each other in a variety of comedic theater games.

Student admission is based on the roll of a dice; you pay the number you roll. Adult admission works similarly, except with an added $4 entrance fee.

All other First Friday events are free of charge. For more information, visit www.gofridays.com.

Jake Snyder plays saxophone for Kansas Bible Co. on Jan. 10 at the Goshen Theater.

The semester got off to an exciting start on Saturday evening as the Kansas Bible Co. took the Goshen Theater stage for a rousing concert performance. Local act The Bradley Effect kicked off the evening and anticipation grew as Goshen students and community members danced, while Bottle Rocket Blue finished up their set.

The Kansas Bible Co. had hardly settled on stage when the crowd eagerly pounced up on the sub-stage in front of the band for the opening song, a cover of M.I.A.’s “Paper Planes,” with the majority college-aged crowd singing along.

Jake Miller, a junior, who formed the band, introduced all the members by their pseudonym names: Rafael Chavez, a senior, as Rafi; Michael Ruth, a sophomore, as Boo “Ruth Tooth” Ruth; James Green, a junior, as Jimy Nimbus; Charlie Frederick, a first-year, as Soc Ramsey; Jake Snyder, a sophomore, as Randolph Snake; Luke Yoder, a junior, as Zac Slater; and finally Miller himself as Carl Violet.

Launching into their second song on the set-list, Kansas Bible Co. took the crowd with their original song “Barack Obama is my Mama.” It appeared that Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians and apathetics alike couldn’t help tunefully shouting along with the chorus line.

Kansas Bible Co. performed several more original compositions including “Zombiefaced,” “Mathematics” and “How to Build a Planet.” Lively covers were interspersed throughout the act, including the Rolling Stone’s “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction,” Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Bad Moon Rising” and “A Hard Day’s Night” by the Beatles.

The almost instant popularity of Kansas Bible Co. has been credited to the unique make-up of the band. Allison Yoder, a junior, said, “It’s really sweet they include different instrumentation, like the horn section.”

The popularity of the band has also been credited to their music choices.  The covers they pick “are older pop songs that our generation can sing and get excited about even though they’re not the typically overplayed pop songs of our generation,” said Allyson Crosby, a junior.

“It’s really fun to be able to collaborate with all these great GC musicians like James, Raf, and Jake,” said Frederick of his experience in the band. He continued, “I’ve seen them play over the years and to play with them is a great opportunity.”

Following the band’s last song, “How to Build a Planet,” they walked off the stage to the roar of the audience chanting, “Encore, Encore!” After a small huddle on stage with a few of the band’s members, Derek Koch — aka The Creature — was summoned from the crowd to the stage to perform his David Bowie act of “Ziggy Stardust.” It was a grand finale to complete the evening of the first Saturday back in snowy Goshen from winter break.