Hey everyone! This past week we had our spring concert, and I figured that it was cool enough to write about. It’s the beginning of finals season. They haven’t started yet, but we’re gearing up to dive into them, so the concert was a welcome break.
This year, a few months back, they sent out a form asking for students to send in recommendations for which artists they should try to bring in. Unfortunately, my voted artist wasn’t chosen–maybe because they are on tour right now, so I’m telling myself that maybe next year it’ll happen. That doesn’t mean it wasn’t fun though. The Campus Activities Board (CAB) brought in two great artists, Wolfacejoeyy, a rap/R&B musician, and Orion Sun, who was the main act. They were both awesome, and the concert was a great way to hang out with some friends that night, even though there was a bit of torrential downpour.
It is great to know that, despite our College being smaller, we don’t miss out on the kinds of large scale opportunities my friends at larger schools also get. Saving perhaps the coolest part for last, CAB also runs a survey in the months leading up to the concert to select a student performer. Bands, performers and DJs alike will all submit clips of their performances, and then the student body will vote on who they want to perform at the concert– so yeah, that comes out to three performances at the concert. The student performance was awesome to see, and any of the people who submitted clips could have been chosen and still been amazing, we have some crazy talented musicians here.
The Real Best Part: the concert was completely free–and for better or for worse, not a ton of people showed up, perhaps on account of the awful weather. Most other schools’ concerts I know of are, well, not free, usually just discounted. To be able to see three great performances, with one being someone as popular as Orion Sun, for free, in a smaller crowd where you can be close to the stage if you’re willing to push and shove a bit, is an entirely different experience than a packed auditorium or sold out stadium with horrible acoustics *cough cough Gillette Stadium.*
There’s not a ton more to say about how cool the concert was, just that–it was cool.
Thanks for reading, and if you have any other questions feel free to reach out, my email is jdesmond28@amherst.edu