Spring concert sees low turnout
Mikky Ekko performs at the Chapman spring concert in the Musco Center for the Arts April 30. Photo by Allie Camp.
Students waved their cellphone flashlights in the air for Mikky Ekko’s calm acoustic set and danced in the aisles during LANY’s upbeat, psychedelic pop performance at the University Program Board’s annual spring concert April 30 in the Musco Center for the Arts.
Although tickets were originally $10 for students, the UPB decided to make tickets free beginning April 27 following low ticket sales.
As of April 25, only 98 event tickets had been sold, although the Musco Center seats 1,044.
Mikky Ekko answers questions during an interview with The Panther prior to the spring concert in the Musco Center for the Arts April 30. Photo by Allie Camp.
“(The University Program Board) started out charging students, but later on in the process we wanted to make sure that this experience was open to as many students and as many members of the Chapman University community as possible,” University Program Board Chair Negeen Lotfi said. “Our goal was to hit 400 ticket sales, and we weren’t close to that goal, so we came together and talked about why that might be.”
On April 28, ticket reservations had more than doubled to more than 200.
Ekko opened the show, performing crowd favorites like “Smile,” “Pull Me Down” and “Burning Doves.” Ekko bantered with the audience during the show, joking that Chapman students were his favorite audience.
“I really love y’all. This is good,” Ekko said.
Ekko closed his set by performing a stripped-down, acoustic version of Rihanna’s “Stay,” which he was featured ON.
“It was amazing. It was breathtaking,” said Shaden Beltran, a freshman strategic and corporate communication major. “I was absolutely blown away. I had the chills the whole time. It was spectacular, honestly.”
Beltran was one of many students who decided to attend the concert after tickets were made free.
“I did not buy tickets, I’m going to be honest,” Beltran said. “I hadn’t heard of him, so I wasn’t sure if it would be worth it.”
In contrast to Ekko’s mellow, engaging performance was self-described three-piece “dream pop” band LANY’s upbeat and colorful performance, complete with flashing lights and dream-like palm tree graphics, inspiring students to get up and dance.
The band performed hits like, “WHERE THE HELL ARE MY FRIENDS” and “Bad, Bad, Bad.”
The free tickets encouraged students to attend the event, even if they weren’t interested in the artists.
“Mostly I just wanted to check out the (Musco) Center,” said Ketzia Abramson, a sophomore integrated educational studies major. “But it was a chill show.”
LANY performs at the Chapman spring concert in the Musco Center for the Arts April 30. Photo by Allie Camp.