By Andrew Street
Staff Writer
On Friday, Oct. 2, students at the College were treated to the talents of their peers at the first student band night of the fall semester. The event, which was hosted by the College Union Board (CUB), provided a stage in the Brower Student Center for the College’s talented musicians to perform. For this first event, three talented students boldly took the stage to deliver a wide range of acoustic ballads and pop-punk favorites.
The night began with an excellent acoustic performance of Fetty Wap’s “Trap Queen.” The rendition of the chart-topping song, which was sung by freshman and early child education major Kira Lerant, was elegant and original. The entirety of her setlist mixed together popular hits such as The Neighbourhood’s “Sweater Weather,” and acoustic staples like “First Day Of My Life” by Bright Eyes. She closed her performance with an excellent cover of the beautifully-written song “Hallelujah,” originally performed by Leonard Cohen.
“I love it, to have the different artists of TCNJ come (together) is such a nice thing,” Lerant said following her performance.
The second act of the night began with an original piece titled “You and I.” The artist behind the song was Rob Colonna with his acoustic guitar. Colonna, a senior history major, took the stage by himself using the accompaniment of pre-recorded tracks he made.
Colonna delighted the audience with a setlist composed of 2000s era pop-punk songs and some well-executed original work. He even surprised the crowd with what he referred to as “a throwback to middle school” when he performed “Face Down” by The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus.
Colonna, who has been playing shows for nearly nine years, put on an energetic and entertaining performance.
After his set, Colonna expressed his admiration for what CUB does with these student events stating that “me and other seniors doing this since freshman year are proof it’s a great program.”
Following Colonna’s performance there was a brief intermission while the third and final act, known as Princeton Beggar, set up their equipment.
Once the three-piece ensemble took the stage they immediately jammed out the familiar guitar riffs of Green Day’s “When I Come Around.” As the opening line was sung out to the crowd, numerous onlookers around the student center halted and looked on to hear the pop-punk classic. The band delivered an excellent set of rock songs, and their original sound was enjoyable thanks to the use of a keyboard.
While the rain may have affected the size of the crowd, those who were present were entertained by some of the College’s most talented performing artists. The sets as a whole offered a unique mix of songs and ranged from acoustic solos to three piece rock ensembles. All in all, the performers and CUB managed to bring down the house on Friday night.
