The Uptown Music Collective, the area’s premier nonprofit school of music, returns to the Community Arts Center in Williamsport for a one-night-only, in-person fundraising event with a tribute to ’80s hard rock bands.

The students of the UMC will present “Nothin’ but a Good Time: Revenge of the ’80s Hair Bands” at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 29, at the CAC, 220 W. Fourth St.

The students will pay tribute to some of the definitive “hair bands” of the 1980s by performing some of the greatest hits from Mötley Crüe, Van Halen, Def Leppard, Guns N’ Roses, Bon Jovi, Poison, and more favorites of L.A.’s Sunset Strip. This performance is co-directed by UMC students Leah Batman (Laurel Springs School) and Stephanie Nappi (PA Cyber Public School).

This show is the Collective’s “People’s Choice” performance, which has become an annual fundraising event. Each summer, the UMC holds multiple rounds of online public voting to see what their fans and supporters want to see the students perform in the upcoming performance season. This past summer the fans casted their votes, and the community’s top choice after several rounds of voting was “’80s hair bands,” winning by a narrow margin over a list of well-known modern and classic rock or pop performers. Once the winner of the voting was determined, the students took the concept and developed the show.

“While researching the genre they read about L.A.’s Sunset Strip in the 1980s, which was the breeding ground for the ‘hair band’ scene,” said Jared Mondell, assistant executive director and marketing director of the Uptown Music Collective. “From there, they developed the setlist based on some of the biggest bands that made their start on the Strip. From front to back, the setlist for this show is solid!”

Although there are certain genres and eras of music that tend to become outdated more than others over the years, the music of the ’80s hair bands continues to be appealing and immensely popular today.

“Once you strip away the ‘look’ of the hair bands and how dated it may seem in retrospect, the music still holds up,” Mondell said. “These bands wrote some great rock and pop songs that have lasted. From some of the heavier tunes to the ballads, a lot of these songs are still played in regular rotation on rock radio stations today. The students are having a blast learning the material, which always makes for a great result.”

Mondell calls this is a straight-up, no-holds-barred, rock show — from the costumes to the lights, all the way down to the guitars they are using on stage.

“The students have put in the work and research to make this as authentic to the music as possible,” he said. “We always have a wide scope of people in our audience who have come to know the level of performance we put on the stage. We are throwing an ’80s rock party and everyone is invited!”

Brought to life on the CAC stage as only the Collective can, this show is sponsored, in part, through partnerships with Geisinger’s Janet Weis Children’s Hospital, Hudock Capital Group, and UPMC North Central PA. All proceeds from this concert will be going to support the school’s scholarship fund, as well as its class and workshop initiative, which is offered free to all students.

Drawn from the Uptown Music Collective’s much-heralded Special Performance Group 1, the cast of this show has been diligently preparing for this event for more than two months. Along with the music, there will be a professional-grade light and sound show organized by the students themselves. As with all Uptown Music Collective performances, students are not only the performers, but they also serve as the directors of the show, as well as stage technicians and spotlight operators.

Like all of UMC’s shows, this performance features the product of their programs — their students’ musicality, performance ability, and leadership skills, which are on display for the community to see and enjoy.

“Each show raises the bar for our students and this one will be no different,” Mondell said. “As for our alumni, I think they will be proud to watch the current students continue to grow what each generation before has built. There may also be a touch of jealousy that they weren’t on stage for this one.”