Photos and Story by Luke Stone / Contributing Writer
MTSU held their annual “End of the Semester” show Monday in Tucker Theatre, in which the rock band New Suede took the stage to end the spring semester with a bang. The concert wasn’t only a celebratory music bash but was also a chance for a multitude of campus organizations to come together and create a stunning show.
AMP Entertainment, a student-run MTSU music organization and the promoters of the event, worked with an MTSU Remote Production class, the MTSU Theatre and Lighting Department, an MTSU Songwriting Performance class and an MTSU Advanced Sound Reinforcement class to bring together the massive production.
New Suede was not the only music act of the night. In fact, there was a long line of student artists in the spring Songwriting Performance course who opened the show with a wide variety of genres, including hip-hop, soul, folk and alternative.
Each student performed one song and their collective opening act was hosted by Anna Wagner and Lacy Pate, both of whom have been heavily involved in the WMTS radio station on campus.
When the opening acts came to a close, the entire Songwriting Performance class took the stage to perform a cover of the Rolling Stones’ “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” in perfect harmony.
After a brief intermission, New Suede emerged on stage.
New Suede is an alternative rock band based out of the Murfreesboro and Nashville area. The band members are Chandler Mills on keyboard and vocals, Elijah Perron on guitar and vocals, Alex Ramsay on drums and Matt MacPhail on bass guitar. Each member of the band is either a current student or a graduate of MTSU.
The band currently has three singles that are available on streaming platforms such as Apple Music and Spotify: “Ocean Drops,” “Believe” and “Taxi.” During the concert, however, they performed a plethora of unreleased songs, including “Pretty Alright,” “How Many More Times,” “Jam 1″ and several more in promotion of their new album. The album is set to be released June 1.
From the time the band took the stage to the final moments of the show, the energy in Tucker Theatre was nothing short of electric. The night was full of shredding guitar solos, high octane vocal performances and Mills jumping off of drum kit platforms.
The chemistry among the band was undeniable. Between each song came hilarious moments of playful banter.
“This song’s about your mother,” Perron said to Mills during the concert.
Every single member of the band got their moment of spotlight and glory. Perron shredded some wild guitar solos. Mills had stunning vocal and keyboard performances throughout. Ramsay received uproars of praise after an extended drum solo. Finally, MacPhail stole the show at one point with his funky bass solo.
After their closing performance, the band received a thunderous standing ovation. The loudest cheers erupted from the front row of their close friends from AMP Entertainment. The show was a hit. All of the hard work and preparation from every department involved culminated into an exciting and successful show.
To quote the band from a recent caption on their Instagram page, New Suede was “laying down the grooves for your end of the semester blues.” And, lay down the grooves they did.
To contact Music Editor Hayden Goodridge, email lifestyles@mtsusidelines.com.
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