Two weeks ago, I had the opportunity to interview and speak with some coordinators and performers at the Stevens Music Showcase that took place earlier this month. This experience really made me appreciate how vibrant the music scene on campus is and how passionate everyone is about performing. It also reminded me of some of my first concert experiences.
The first concert I ever went to was Fall Out Boy’s “So Much For (2our) Dust” at Madison Square Garden in 2024. I remember being really excited for it as a long-time fan. My mom bought us floor seats, so we were able to get a really great view of the stage and the overhead screens.
One of my favorite moments of the concert was hearing the band play one of my favorite songs, “XO.” When this song came on early on in the set list, I screamed so loud and even jumped with joy, since I’d had this song on repeat days before the concert! I later learned it was their tour debut song, which just made me even happier to know I was lucky enough to hear that song played live.
A year later, I was also able to see Weird Al Yankovic’s “Bigger and Weirder” tour since my dad and I are fans of his music. He’s most famous for his parodies of popular songs, and he performed some fun ones like “White and Nerdy” (parody of “Ridin’” by Chamillionaire) and “Tacky” (parody of “Happy” by Pharrell Williams). There were so many great costume changes, and it was overall a really fun and exciting time.
A fun thing about going to this concert was that I got to meet up with my best friend, Milo. A while after seeing Fall Out Boy, we both discovered that we happened to be at the exact same concert without even realizing it. When I heard that he was going to see Weird Al that night, I was stoked that the same coincidence happened again! We got to meet up after the show and chat about how cool the performance was.
One of my favorite on-campus events from last semester was TechFest! It was so fun getting to hang out with my friends and take advantage of the free pizza and brownies from the food trucks they had at the event. The opening bands did an amazing job and had powerful vocals and instrumentation, but my favorite part of the night was seeing Rachel Chinouriri perform.
I had never heard of her prior to TechFest, but she had such a contagious energy that made everyone, myself included, dance and vibe to the music. She had a beautiful mix of slow emotional songs, as well as high-energy hits that had the whole crowd clapping and singing along. I remember when someone tossed a small plushy onto the stage, and Rachel Chinouriri was so happy and thrilled that she put it on a mic stand and held it up for the audience, causing everyone to erupt with applause and excitement. As I was walking back to my dorm after the show, I knew that I wanted to go to TechFest every year while I was at Stevens.
Live music and concerts are so important to me because they allow me to immerse myself in the feelings, energy, and overall vibe the performers are conveying through song. It’s especially great that we have free performances on campus from such talented student musicians. Even though Stevens is a technology-focused school, I’m so glad to see that our school encourages us to foster our love for music, whether it be through singing, playing an instrument, or producing and writing songs. I should probably start thinking about which artists I want to see on tour next!
