This past Saturday, Trinity University’s Student Programming Board (SPB) brought artists KYLE and A-Game to campus for the 2018 Welcome Week Concert. Here’s a recap of this year’s Welcome Week Concert, so that even if you couldn’t make it to the show last Saturday you can still, as KYLE in his song “Doubt It” puts it, “read all about it”.
This was my first Welcome Week concert, and while I was not very familiar with KYLE and A-Game when they were announced as this year’s artists, they quickly won me over with the energy they brought to their performances. The artists knew how to liven up the audience during the concert’s scheduled time of the early evening, and I left with the impression that Trinity’s students were granted a welcomed opportunity for some fun amidst their first week of classes.
Opening for KYLE was A-Game, who was easily able to energize the crowd alongside MC Tres and DJ Kimmy Nu. At first I wasn’t sure what to expect from A-Game, but his dynamic performance and friendly call-and-response requests of the audience really got us on our feet.
“It was really high energy. It was really great,” said Addie Coldiron, a sophomore. “Especially the beginning when A-Game, Kimmy Nu and MC Tres were really hyping up the crowd, and even though they’re not really very well known names they were able to to get everybody dancing and yelling and screaming together, which was really great preparation for KYLE.”
KYLE often addressed the audience and pulse-checked to make sure they were having the best time possible. KYLE added spark to his performance with a quick, carefree delivery of his song lyrics, especially during his song “Nothing 2 Lose.”
Aspects of the show’s design — which featured cartoon aliens, other space-themed elements and a backdrop featuring the video game Fortnite — added to the easygoing and fun atmosphere of the concert. Kyle’s requests for the audience to sing along a cappella style to his song “Playinwitme” encouraged the crowd get to pumped up for his hit closing song “iSpy.”
While the Welcome Week concert was successful in bringing Trinity’s students together for an entertaining evening at the start of a new year, the venue at Prassel Lawn did become somewhat overwhelmed by concert-goers during the higher-energy moments of the show.
“I am a good fan of [KYLE] … not too sure about the crowd itself,” said Briahn Hawkins, junior. “I think being in the front was a bad idea for me, because there were a lot of people that were jumping; people were jumping in front of me and jumping [out] from behind me … I was good with the performance but not the crowd itself.”
Despite this inconvenience it was clear that the Welcome Week Concert was a refreshing experience for students this year. The SPB made a wise decision in bringing artists like KYLE and A-Game to campus, allowing concert-goers to experience an energetic show and for TUPD to effectively ensure the crowd’s safety while doing so.
“This was my first concert, so this was really exciting … I was really feeling it and I was especially more comfortable because I had friends with me,” said Ben Falcon, first-year. “I’m curious and excited to see who Trinity brings next year, and I’ll definitely be there … I just don’t want my tuition to go up to pay for it.”
