SUMNER – The Mango Groove Steel Band will perform a free concert at 6:30 p.m., Thursday, June 9, at the Hartford-Sumner Elementary School.

?The five-piece Caribbean steel drum band has been building a reputation as a dance and party band, playing authentic calypso and soca music from Trinidad and Tobago, as well as reggae, Motown, jazz and more.

Mango Groove musicians frequently invite audience members to learn some steps and perform with them to the Afro-Carribbean music.

Mango Groove is based in Conway, N.H., and most of its members live in or near the Mt. Washington Valley. Band director Eric Rollnick plays lead, or soprano “pan.” Pan is the actual name of the instrument, however they are made from steel drums. The other members include Candace Maher on seconds, or alto pans -– two pans of high register that often complement the melody or play harmonies; Janet Kucera on guitar pans, two pans of lower pitch that extend to play parts a rhythm guitar would play; Cathy Arsenault-Shea on bass pans, which consist of six full-size steel drums, and percussionist Bill Mead as the “engine room” on drum kit.

A? potluck dinner will run from ?5:30 to 6:30 p.m. in the cafeteria prior to the concert. The event is sponsored by the Nezinscot Valley Music Boosters.