photo by Cenn Hall
With finals approaching, the Activities Council of Bradley University (ACBU) held a free “Spring into Summer” concert on last night as a way for students to get into the right state of mind before finishing off a long semester.
The performance at the concert included a pop-rock band with soul and R&B influences called The Madison Letter. The duo from Greenville, Illinois, has independently recorded and released two EPs in addition to opening for many big-name artists including: Owl City, We the Kings, Aaron Carter and even the Ying Yang Twins.
Students unwound to the up-and-coming band while helping themselves to a free sandwich bar throughout the evening.
ACBU co-coordinator of the Sydney Sheridan said that the main purpose of the concert was to de-stress for finals and have an overall fun Thursday night. Sheridan explained the importance of holding events like these on Bradley’s campus.
“Bradley is more than just a university,” Sheridan, a freshman music entertainment and industry major, said. “We as students commit an entire year of our lives on Bradley’s campus, and if we only focused on schoolwork, we would be bored and unproductive. That is the purpose of ACBU and this concert: bringing activities to students year-round so we can have fun at Bradley and enjoy our stay during the school year.”
The concert was also co-hosted by Residential Life and Bradley’s the sexual assault awareness month group in order to bring the importance of sexual assault awareness to Bradley’s community, according to ACBU co-coordinator Mikki Tran.
“The point of pairing up with [the sexual assault awareness month group] is to increase awareness and have the student body understand why it is a big deal,” Tran, sophomore health science major said. “It also promotes the idea that people should be actively engaged in learning about the topic.”
Freshman industrial engineering major Ana de Zamacoma, who attended the event, said this was her third time seeing The Madison Letter.
“It was nice to see them live,” de Zamacoma said. “They opened up for The Script one time like five years ago, and I saw them there, and I really liked them … Then they went back to St. Louis for a small, little concert.”
De Zamacoma said she had not thought of the band until she recognized their name when hearing that they were coming to Bradley.
“It was a little nostalgic in a way. It was cool,” De Zamacoma said.
