Dancing to the Rhythym of Love: A Student Concert
Benedetto Maniscalco | February 24, 2022
Quinn Bonney
Baker and Copeland performing a Holy Modal Rounders cover.
February 13, after dark students shuffled into the Kittredge recital hall at Warren Wilson College (WWC). It was a night to remember as students performed another student concert. Romance was in the air and so were COVID-19 concerns.
Students gathered; bands warmed up. The energy was a mix of social anxieties and anticipation for the dancing to come.
Mac Clarke, a sophomore studying philosophy, is the main organizer of these student concerts and according to him, they are meant to provide a comfortable community space.
“It’s for everyone to unwind and appreciate some of the art that is going on at Wilson,” Clarke said. “It is meant to be a community space to enjoy each other without the need for socialization.”
Clarke got into music through his brother, and it has remained as something enjoyable, helpful, and de-stressing; something that has been a focus for the concerts he holds on campus.
“It’s also just a space to let loose and enjoy the music,” Clarke said.
Clarke tries to hold a student concert once every two weeks, but this show marked his 1-year anniversary from the first show he held at Wilson on Valentine’s day in 2021.
The room filled up as Omniphonia warmed up on the stage, and the people on the sound board adjusted various levels. Woo-ing and yells came with each warmed-up chorus or verse, but the night was yet to begin.
Walker Russell, a junior music major, was in charge of most of the technical set up and would go on to play in the second set. This show was the first held in Kittredge, the last having been in Bryson gym, but Walker explained how once they got over the initial bumps of set-up the night ran smoothly.
“I had a lot of fun once I got rid of the stress of setting shit up. I just was able to relax and everything went really smoothly,” Russell said. “And, once the music starts, that's a whole other thing. Everything leads up to that moment right before the music starts. And then once you start playing, it's like you've done it a thousand times, like clockwork.”
With the stage set and the artists ready, Eliot Baker and Nat Copeland started things off with a Holy Modal Rounders cover. The Bob Dylan-ness in Baker’s vibrato came through on the peak of each sung note. Their set rounded out into a calming lullaby of old folk classics that eased the crowd into a false sense of stasis.
The second set started and Mass persuaded –– by means of strong groove and faster beats –– students to stop sitting and start dancing. Pierce Bullock, a sophomore business major, played drums while Russell sang and played guitar.
Russell always heard music playing in the house, growing up with a Deadhead father and a mom that blurred the lines of genre in her identity. Russell has found a lot of influence from a band local to Charleston, SC called Canopy Hands. They were the tipping point for Russell’s desire to create music.
They started out on drums but eventually fell in love with the guitar and then became increasingly interested in recording music.
“I fucking love it; it’s the most fun thing I could possibly do,” Russell said.
With the crowd now riled en masse and by Mass, Gwyn Atkinson took the stage to join the band for some aggressive punk featuring the high pitch yells that make listeners want to be beautiful, uninhibited anarchists.
As Mass finished up, the crowd became more and more exhausted, taken full-force into unknown levels of dancing.
The next set was spearheaded by a student musician who goes by Ansalise. The chill, bedroom pop had the crowd in their pre-Valentine feels.
Her set peaked as she covered a song detailing the importance of birth control.
Annalise was joined by Kaylah Bell, a senior expressive arts therapy major, for some sweet, duet love songs in continuation of the Valentine’s theme.
Set four came around and all bets were off. Lulled and moved and lulled again, the crowd was not ready for the moving and grooving that Omniphonia Demanded. The notes on guitars bent by fingers, jamming to the heavy-handed beat of Tyson Lewis on drums, were almost as heavy as the lead guitarist’s message to the crowd.
Emerson Parker-Simkin asked students to please be courteous of each other's safety and to adhere by Covid-19 protocols. One student repeatedly did not follow these requests.
Watson Jones, a first-year student intending to major in integrated studies, on bass detailed his introduction to music. His dad is a sound engineer, and he grew up surrounded by musicians. Jones, however, never really played an instrument until high school, where he grew increasingly distant from academic interests.
Started by making beats on his laptop, he would spend around 7 hours a day after school working on them. This fueled his interest in music theory and composition. Eventually Jones’ friend asked to play with his punk band that needed a bassist. In his last year of high school, Jones learned guitar and began writing more songs. He still loves working with Logic Pro to make electronic music.
He recounted a story that stuck with him, at a family event his dad urged him to try playing drums at the drum circle. A family friend saw Jones looking pretty lost and came to offer assistance showing him to just hit once on every down beat.
“Simplicity is a big thing for me,” Jones said.
Overall, the concert went well; the bands were mighty; the dancing was tight; the lights were low; and maybe, just maybe, romances were born on that Valentine’s eve.
Russell also mentioned how interested they are in recording other students. They want to put their contact information out there so people can reach out and set up some recording time.
You can email Walker Russell at wrussel.f19@warren-wilson.com or text them at 843-503-5173 if you want to record in the music studio located in Kittredge. They are eager to have students come in and require only a few days heads up to plan time to record.
You can find some of Mass’ recordings on their Soundcloud, many having been recorded under their previous name Purple Fire.
You can find recordings of Annalise on spotify.
While Omniphonia has no music currently recorded and available, you can find some of Watson Jones’ songs on Soundcloud.