Temperatures climbed to a high of 71 degrees this past Saturday, just in time for Seattle University’s annual Quadstock concert. The 28th annual Quadstock was a time for students to dance, sing and bask in the precious Seattle sunlight. The absence of clouds caught some students unprepared, leaving them with stinging pink sunburns.

SU Battle of the Bands winner Morado performed at the 28th Annual Quadstock.

The warm day kicked off at noon on the Union Green, curated by KXSU 102.1 FM, Seattle University’s student-run radio station. Students sprawled out on the grass, challenged their friends to the inflatable obstacle course, and milled around the promotion tables set up by Seattle U student organizations and community sponsors.

The Redzone activity table was popular among attendees, and many students took part in decorating and designing their own personalized Redzone mesh hat.

The Union Green stage opened with Seattle U student Rick Reyes and his band, Community Father. It was their very first performance together as a band, and the sound stayed true to Reyes’ jazzy singer-songwriter roots.

“It was so cool to spend my first show in a long time as a band with some super nice weather and a group of supportive people,” Reyes said. “The vibe was super nice.”

Local R&B artist Falon Sierra had students moving and dancing. Her young age and impressive vocals seemed to excite the crowd. Her song, “Mr. Prez”, had the audience laughing at the embedded sound bites of President Donald Trump saying “I have a great relationship with blacks, I’ve always had a great relationship with blacks.”

Moon Human, formerly known as Rainy Day Splish Splosh Band, played a tight set of post-punk psychedelic rock music. Their intense focus on stage ensured a professional sound as they debuted some of their new music that will come out on their next album, “Flavorfully Blue,” which will be released on June 9.

Honcho Poncho, a local American alternative rock band, kept their set happy and full of energy. They played songs from their album “Late Night,” as well as some unreleased tracks.

Lead guitarist Owen Proto seemed to wow the crowd with his difficult solos. Their candid laughter and sense of humor made the performance especially entertaining, and lead singer Sam Gelband encouraged students to dunk him in the Seattle U Dance Marathon dunk tank after they finished.

“It was fun to play to [a] nearly horizontal crowd of relax[ed] sunbathers then get dunked in a bucket of water,” Gelband said. “A relaxing day in the sun filled with good tunes that we all needed.”

Emma Lee Toyoda closed out the Union Green stage with a high energy performance. Toyoda and her bandmates Khyre Matthews and Zeke Bender gave the Seattle U community a taste of what they call “sadgirlrock”. Toyoda’s unique sweet and deep vocals rang strongly out over the sound of drums and guitar.

Bibi Bourelly’s music gave some life to the crowd.

Between each performance, student DJs Marc Gleckman, also known as Lone Human, and Xander Kipp played their own sets of specially curated music. Lone Human also got to promote the release of his latest album “Sanctuary”. The relaxed atmosphere of the KXSU stage was frustrating for Kipp.

“It was kind of a bummer to perform for such a short amount of time,” Kipp said. “Couldn’t get much done with my set, and it was definitely strange playing for a bunch of people sitting down. Never had that happen before.”

Gleckman echoed the brevity of the performance. “Being on the union green stage was [an] incredibly exciting feeling,” he said. “Although my set was short, I was honored to have students appreciate my music. Events like this inspire me to do more with music and to continue to do what I love.”

Student-run promotion tables at the Union Green stage included Students for Disability Justice, Pre-Law Student Association, Helping Hands Homeless Advocacy, Housing and Residence Life, Relay for Life, Graduate Student Council, Women’s Rugby, South Asian Student Association, Anarchists at SU and Seattle U Student Alumni Association.

Women’s Rugby was giving tackle demonstrations, Housing and Residence Life supplied giant Jenga, Helping Hands Homeless Advocacy was facilitating a homelessness trivia game, the South Asian Student Association was giving students henna tattoos and Students for Disability Justice was running a photo booth for students to complete the sentence, “Disabled and ___” or “Ally and proud.” There were many different types of food, candy, and swag at each of the tables.

Quadstock wrapped up with an encore by Bibi Bourelly.

“Quadstock 28 was epic because of all the connections made between the different clubs and different organizations,” future 2017-2018 KXSU Business Director Haneia Simpson said.

Sponsor tables at the Union Green stage included Silver Cloud Hotels, CorePower Yoga, goPuff delivery and Livible storage.

KXSU assisted the artists in selling merchandise, in addition to selling their own new t-shirts and giving away buttons and stickers at their prize wheel.

The performances on the Union Green stage concluded with a drawing by KXSU for various prizes including a pair of 3-day tickets to Bumbershoot Music Festival this fall.

After watching the KXSU lineup, students walked over to the Quad to watch the Student Events and Activities, or SEAC, stage. After the cancellation of the headliner, Sean Kingston, admission to see the SEAC lineup was reduced to $10 and included one entree, one drink, and one dessert. The entree options were: a Byrek from Byrek and Baguette or two street tacos from Korean and Mexican inspired Bomba Fusion.

Assorted soda beverages and cookies from Hello Robin accompanied the entree. The s’mores themed cookie from Hello Robin was especially popular and was the first cookie to run out.

“I think my favorite part about Quadstock was seeing artists that I really enjoy coming to my school and being a part of this community and seeing the community itself receive them in such a wonderful way,” Seattle U first-year Griffin Leemon said.

Student DJ Alan Adamian, also known as DJ Naimada, started off the set. As the current music director for KXSU and major EDM fan, DJ Naimada had planned exactly what to play to get the crowd moving. DJ Naimada can also be heard spinning tracks in the Campion basement every Thursday night from 7-8pm on KXSU 102.1 FM.

Seattle U’s Battle of the Bands winner Morado had a lot of support from the community. Friends and fans of Morado gathered close to the stage to cheer for each member of the band. They began as a Strokes cover band and now write and perform their own original music. Morado expressed their gratitude between each song for the support of their friends and the opportunity for the experience to perform at Quadstock.

Students and musicians alike enjoyed the sunny weather at Quadstock.

“It felt incredible,” said vocalist and guitarist Fred Seymour. “I feel incredibly lucky to be in this band and to have played the same stage as Bibi Bourelly.”

Bibi Bourelly was a student favorite.

Raz Simone, a last minute addition to the lineup, knew how to work a crowd. Raz Simone removed his performance from the stage and got up close and personal with the Seattle U audience. He danced among the students and moved all around the Quad. After he posted videos and pictures of his performance on Instagram, some controversy spawned from comments that critiqued the dance moves and behavior of several Seattle U students who were featured in the video.

“My favorite part about the main stage was the ongoing interaction between the performers and the crowd,” Seattle U Sophomore and future 2017-2018 KXSU General Manager Andrew Reid said, “Raz Simone, for example, utilized the whole Quad as his stage, which made for a very unique experience.”

Sam Lachow, who is also a local Seattle rap artist, kept the energy high with his upbeat sound. His style is best compared to that of rappers like Chance the Rapper and Kyle. Lachow has a flavor for unique production and lyrics that relate to the local Seattle audience.

To end the night, Bibi Bourelly lit up the stage with her big hair and big voice. She encouraged the audience to love freely, reminding them that “young people need to stick together”. A young and rising celebrity, Bourelly has been touring with Lil Uzi Vert and has written songs for Rihanna. She sang her own songs, like her hit single Ballin, and also performed a cover of the 2004 song Breathe (2am) by Anna Nalick and encouraged the crowd to sing the chorus. Ending with an encore, her guitarist slammed out a solo before the stage went dark for the evening.

“I loved Bibi Bourelly, she was very real,” said Emily Keithahn, sophomore transfer student and Psychology major. “Also I liked the way they laid out the Quad, it was cute. Just being able to relax with lots of the student body was nice since we’re all stressed otherwise.”

Haley can be reached at
[email protected]