UConnic, which happened Friday, April 18, was a blast this year. UConnic is a concert held in Gampel Pavilion by the Student Union Board of Governors (SUBOG) every year. Oftentimes, SUBOG will send out a poll asking students to vote on which headliners they’d be most interested in seeing that year. Unfortunately, no poll was sent out this year. The event lasted from 7-11 p.m., with three openers performing before Ross and Rocky Lynch took to the stage at 10 p.m.
The first opener was Saby, who performed a variety of his own rap songs. The rap was good, but it seemed as though the crowd wasn’t hype enough for the artist, as he proclaimed that he had one more song left but wasn’t going to do it, and then left the stage.
The next opener was Edgehill, who was a crowd favorite. The Tennessee-based band performed a variety of songs, and the crowd was very excited, even chanting “one more song” before they finished the set. Unfortunately, they did not perform another song, but they did interact with the audience and said to DM them if audience members wanted them to do a house show in Connecticut.
The last opener was Raveena, who was announced by the Emcee as being the only South Asian woman to perform solo at Coachella. Raveena entranced the audience with her dreamy R&B-like vocals. Her dancers and guitarist were also great, matching the rhythm and even using dupattas to create nice shapes. Raveena also performed a Hindi song, which most of the crowd didn’t understand (as a South Asian girl, I loved it!). Raveena has some smooth vocals, but her performance was a completely different vibe from the previous openers and The Driver Era.
The Driver Era took to the stage at 10 p.m., with fans screaming from all sides of the arena. They played some fan favorites, including “A Kiss” and “Afterglow.” He also played some songs from the new album, Obsession, including “Low,” “The Weekend,” and “I’d Rather Die.” All of these songs were amazing, and as a long-time Driver Era fan (I’ve been listening to them since their first album, X, came out), I really enjoyed the setlist and Ross’s performance. I didn’t think I’d be fangirling, but once he got on the stage, all I saw was Austin Moon, one of my favorite childhood characters.
Additionally, it was also Ryland Lynch’s birthday (brother of Ross and Rocky), so Ross invited him up on the stage. The crowd sang “Happy Birthday” to him, and he was promptly given a box of Insomnia Cookies. At the end of the show, they also threw out many guitar picks and even a t-shirt to fans.
As a Driver Era fan and a senior, UConnic was a blast this year, and I’m glad they had an artist I cared a lot to see. I recommend that all students go to UConnic at least once; it was absolutely worth it!