Thursday Night Lights

Concerts are always some of the best nights but imagine having one right on your college campus. I never thought that was a possibility, but I’ve already had two amazing concert experiences while at Furman! Everyone gets so excited for these nights and the energy all around campus is so high. Since I’m part of FUSAB – Furman University Student Activities Board – I get to help plan and run the whole concert. I’ve gotten to see the ins and outs and that just makes the night even more fun.

Briston Maroney!!

Last semester, we brought Young Gravy to Furman for a concert, and I was so excited that we could still do an event like this during Covid. Obviously, many protocols were in place so there was no spread of disease, but this year was basically back to normal! We brought Briston Maroney to campus for a concert this past week and it was so much fun! We had it on a Thursday night which was perfect because it felt like an early start to the weekend. If I’m being honest, I didn’t know many of his songs before, but now I’m a little obsessed. He was one of the best performers and his voice is incredible! His songs are so good and I’m so glad I got the chance to see him live. There were so many students at the concert, and it was just such a good night overall.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was definitely a little colder than expected, but everyone got so bundled up ready for the night. The concert was set up outside and a huge stage and sound system was built. There were lights everywhere and it felt just like a large-scale music festival stage. I love that we have the resources to put on big concerts on campus because it’s always such a fun event for students to get excited about. We usually just do a big concert during the spring semester, but since Covid messed up some plans, we were able to plan one for both semesters this school year.

Behind the Scenes

FUSAB works so hard to put on concerts every year and seeing the “behind the scenes” is always my favorite part. You get to understand the challenges of finding artists, signing contracts, and dealing with so many aspects to keep everyone happy. Working concerts with other people on FUSAB is definitely such a bonding experience too. We’re there so much earlier than most students and we’re all working together to make sure everything goes according to plan. If we get lucky, sometimes we get to meet the artist after the performance is over!!

I love seeing the progression from an empty concert during set up to the crowds that form later in the night. The whole campus gets so excited when they know a concert is coming up. It’s always such big news to find out what performer is coming and up until the announcement, it’s the BIGGEST secret. Another thing I love about Furman concerts is that students can even get involved. For the past two concerts, we’ve had one of our students open for the main act. I think this is such a special way for our campus to support each other.

Concerts at Furman are always some of the best days of the semester and they always will be. Stay tuned for who we’re able to get next in the spring!

All the love!

Andersen Wade