Photos by Matt Benton
Pepperdine students and members of the Malibu community flooded into Alumni Park on Saturday to enjoy great music, great food and great company. The Board sold student tickets on pre-sale in the Cafeteria for $1 a piece, last minute atendees purchased tickets for $5 at the . Live music played from 6 to 10 pm.
The line up this year included Pepperdine’s own Suede Silver as the opening band, and Best Coast and Lord Huron for the main acts. You might remember hearing Suede Silver earlier in the year as they competed for the coveted opening act in Pepperdine’s Battle of the Bands. Suede Silver’s lead singer, junior Sean Graves, also performs regularly at Coffeehouses.
As students entered the gates to Alumni, they were greeted with an array of food trucks serving a multitude of cuisine. There were also several activities to keep the crowd occupied between acts. There were tables set up with body paint, and students didn’t hesitate to cover themselves in art.
Students captured the memory with their friends at the photo area. Friends dressed up in props and pose for the Polaroid, which they then took home with them. In the far corner was a colorful backdrop for Kodak moments and Holi, or colored powder, to the side, waiting to be thrown in the air or put in your hair. Throughout the night, students munched on snacks, covered themselves in paint, snapped photos and donned blue, green, orange, pink and yellow hair. Junior Alexandria Tucker said she loved the concert. ” I definitely got a crepe. They had an area to do body art and that was fun as well as the colored powder, which was awesome. The Polaroid booth was amazing. It allowed you and your friends to get together and be goofy.”
The bands chosen this year were primarily Indie and Folk. Best Coast, an indie-pop duo with Bethany Cosentino and Bobb Bruno, formed in LA in 2009.
Lord Huron formed in 2010. The indie-folk band is based in LA, though they originated from Michigan. The band selections are likely due to a survey the Student Board sent out last semester asking students about their music preferences.
Despite this seemingly sound way to choose bands based on the musical tastes of the student body, many commented that they would have chosen a different genre.
“As far as the music goes, I generally listen to rock music typically. If I could pick the bands I would choose The Rolling Stones, ACDC, Van Halen, Metallica possibly. I was impressed with the sound quality though, and the food trucks were also nice. I could have been doing a lot worse things with my time than going to the spring concert.” junior Zale Lockwood.
Tucker seemed to have similar sentiments. “I really liked the Spring Concert. It allowed a lot of people to come out to Alumni and have fun,” Tucker said. “It wasn’t as big as two years ago, but it was really fun once people started to get into it. Suede Silver was awesome. They killed it. However, I don’t listen to indie-folk very often. I know other people do, but I still enjoyed it and enjoyed having my friends there. I mostly listen to Spanish music, and my favorite is a Mexican band called Reik. They’re amazing. In future Spring Concerts though I’d like to see more big name bands. I know it’s hard because of budgeting, but maybe groups that people have heard of like Mumford and Sons if they want to stick with indie-folk.”
Tucker also had a few suggestions to make future Spring concerts all they can be. “This year the groups were more obscure. Fall concert was really good. Andy Grammer, Plain White T’s; that was a solid lineup. There were so many people. Fall lineup was geared towards a wider audience. This concert was pretty specific. Keep doing concerts though. It really builds community.”
Overall, the event was a raging success, allowing students to gather and let off some steam before the semester finals’ inevitable return. Students enjoyed a night of music, food and fun.
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