Even though sophomores are busy taking classes, working or doing research in Hanover, some are still partaking in the excitement of music festivals and concerts that celebrate their favorite artists.
This past weekend, several students traveled to Parc Jean-Drapeau, Montreal to attend Osheaga, a three-day music and arts festival that began in 2006. Beginning on Friday, Osheaga boasted more than 50 international artists performing on six stages.
Heidi Ahn ’18 attended the festival with her friends because she knew it would be a fun and new experience during her sophomore summer.
Now in its 11th year, Osheaga is considered to be Canada’s premier music festival, attracting a total of 135,000 people last year.
Megan Batangan ’18 and Brooke Hadley ’18 spent last Saturday at Osheaga, where they saw Lana Del Rey perform.
Before the concert, Batangan did not know too much about Del Rey but now considers herself a fan after experiencing the ambiance of the crowd.
In addition to music, Osheaga also offered food trucks, games, craft booths and art pieces. Batangan said booths gave free makeovers and haircuts and the Parc had murals and statues. One sculpture, she noted, depicting the late David Bowie, was popular among the attendees.
While Haim, Death Cab for Cutie and Lana Del Rey performed at Osheaga on Saturday, Coldplay took to the Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass. for the continuation of their “A Head Full of Dreams” tour with Alessia Cara and Foxes.
As a longtime fan, Alex Vasquez ‘18 said the concert was particularly memorable. Vasquez has followed the group’s musical development since sixth grade.
While many artists save the confetti and fireworks for the last song, Coldplay’s concert featured an “over-the-top” performance of every song, Vasques said.
She also noted the concert’s use of high tech Xylobands, wristbands that emit lights that sync with the frequencies of the songs performed.
On Wednesday, Hadley traveled with a group of friends to the Xfinity Center in Mansfield, Mass. for G-Eazy and Logic’s tour “The Endless Summer.”
Both artists were keen on returning to their roots, Hadley noted. During their respective sets, Logic reminisced about supporting his favorite rappers like those in the crowd. G-Eazy spoke about opening for hip-hop artist Lil Wayne before becoming the main headlining performer for a crowd of 15,000 fans himself.
Logic performed hit songs such as “Alright” (2014) and “Young Jesus” (2015), freestyle-rapped to an informal beat he created on stage and teased several songs from his upcoming third album.
Likewise, G-Eazy performed songs from his second album “These Things Happen” (2014) to his most recent album “When It’s Dark Out” (2015). In the middle of his set, G-Eazy brought out singer Marc E. Bassy to sing “Some Kind of Drug” (2015) and “You and Me” (2016). To close the concert, G-Eazy performed what has become arguably his biggest hit to date, “Me, Myself & I” (2015).
One of the best parts of the concert, Andie Conching ’18 said, was the integration of the lighting and stage design with multimedia video.
“At several points, the panels on stage flashed images of landscapes from California and it appeared as though G-Eazy was superimposed on those images,” Conching said. “On the screens across the center, live footage of G-Eazy performing was mixed with clips of lightning and other designs for each song.”
Hadley and Conching both agreed the concert was worth attending despite it being in the middle of a school week.
For some, however, classes posed a problem when planning on attending off-campus concerts because of midterms or essays.
Shinar Jain ’18 said she had to pass up two opportunities this term to see Fifth Harmony, one of her favorite musical groups, due to conflicting assignments and trouble arranging rides to the different venues in New England.
To future sophomores, Batangan, Vasques and Ahn recommend attending off-campus concerts during the summer term.
“We’re so acclimated to the Dartmouth bubble that it’s good to remind yourself of the real world out there,” Batangan said.
Vasques said her experience was meaningful in light of speculation that Coldplay will break up after this tour.
“There’s rumors that this is their last tour and that it was hard to get them to work together for this so it was the chance of a lifetime,” Vasques said.
For Ahn, attending an off-campus music festival was a highlight of her term thus far.
“There’s this expectation that sophomore summer is going to be a great term and personally, the summer hasn’t really met my expectations,” Ahn said. “But going off-campus, visiting another country and doing something that’s a typical summer activity is really nice.”
Although the term has reached its busiest for students, there are still concerts and festivals to attend in New England. Next Wednesday, Drake will perform in Boston as part of his “Summer Sixteen Tour.” During the interim, Kanye West will also be performing in Boston for “The Saint Pablo Tour.”
