The new semester brings with it a new lineup of musical acts to grace campus this spring. The S&B’s Arts Editor Emma Friedlander sat down with Mark Spero ’16 (Concerts chair), Corey Simmonds ’17 (assistant Concerts chair) and James Marlow ’16 (outreach and publicity coordinator) to find out which artists they’re most excited to see.
The S&B: Which acts are you most excited for this semester?
Simmonds: The two acts that I’m most excited for are definitely Mick Jenkins, who will be coming towards the middle of the semester, and Moses Sumney, who’s later this week. Moses Sumney has a way of serenading a crowd that I think is incredible. He reminds me a lot of a song by Vulfpeck, “Wait for the Moment,” which is one of my favorites. He takes a style that I’ve come to enjoy and expands upon it in a really cool way. And then Mick Jenkins…wow. I’ve been a fan for a very long time, ever since he was still making mix tapes and poor music videos. I think that his lyrical content is relevant and conscious, and I agree with a lot of his politics. His music is also very good, he’s got good flow.
Marlow: The show I’m most looking forward to is N.A.A.F.I. night. N.A.A.F.I. is a Mexican music collective. They do a lot of really cool things with reconstructing reggaeton beats with an industrial tone. It’s dancey, and a weekend show, so it’ll be a party. Another concert that I think will be really good is on April 8, with Porches, Alex G and Your Friend. Porches is really blowing up right now. They have a slightly electronic feel. Alex G is psychedelic folk, and he’s also really big.
Spero: It’s cool to see all of these artists featured on the Fader or Billboard. I’m also really excited for N.A.A.F.I. and Moses Sumney. Then there’s also Allan Kingdom and Webster X. Allan Kingdom has some amazing music out there that’s all his own, and he’s also worked with Kanye West. It’s some really interesting music from a Midwestern rapper. Along with that Webster X is opening, who Complex named one of 20 rappers to watch for 2016. Apart from making really beautiful music videos and doing really interesting things with his music and lyrics, he also does a lot for Milwaukee, where he’s from. He’s set up an arts scene for people to participate in at the local level. As he gets bigger and works with artists like Allan Kingdom, he’s bringing a lot of local people with him. It’s really admirable and something that I think should be done more in music.
The S&B: Beyond the visiting artists, are there any other exciting changes coming to Concerts?
Spero: There’s nothing set in stone yet, but we did just get funding to redesign the lighting in Gardner. We’ve been in the stone age of venue lighting, and though it probably won’t be something that happens for many of these shows, in the coming years I think that [the new lighting] is going to make Gardner a true venue.
