this afternoon, listen to some SWEET JAMS in the OUTDOORS here at wesleyan. go to the MASH.
While MRoth’s band is not playing this year, Wesleyan’s only administratively-sanctioned outdoor (occasionally indoor) music festival is happening this afternoon and features several students and alumni alike. A couple weeks ago, I told you about what the music scene here is like. Today, you get to ~experience it,~ this time courtesy of the Center for the Arts.
The fourth annual MASH is today, Sept. 9, from 2 – 7:30 p.m. 21 student bands and one very special alumni band are holding down the all-day festival this year. So now, instead of just stewing outside in the humid Connecticut air this afternoon, you can stew outside while listening to some cool music. We’ll also be broadcasting some of the performances ~live~ on Facebook, if it turns out that you can’t make it.
For the first three hours, there are three stages — one in front of Olin Memorial Library, one on the North College Lawn, and one in the CFA. For these three hours, you will have to choose where you want to go. After that’s done, everyone migrates to the main stage at the foot of Foss Hill, where The Highlanders, Jal & Locus, Chef, and El Niño close out the night.
The CFA’s event page and the facebook event have some pretty good information, and I have collected most of it here for you. It’s all organized by stage so that you can pick where to go in the first three-hour block. Everything in quotes is how the bands describe themselves, either to Wesleying or to the CFA. For my list of all the acts playing and links to their music, click through:
Olin Library
2-2:20pm — Slavei is Wesleyan’s Eastern European and Georgian a cappella group.
2:30-2:50pm — Hari ((a new group I have never seen before))
3-3:20pm — Slender James
Slender is one of Wesleyan’s many a cappella groups, and they’re one of the ones who are all male-identifying. I once saw my friend Will Gifford ’18 sing “Sugar We’re Goin’ Down” with them and it made the emo teen inside of me weep their eyeliner off.
3:30-3:50pm — Birchbark is Nyanen Deng and Noah Mertz ’17 and their music is really cute.
4-4:20pm — Fortune Plays Sax ((another new group I have never seen before))
4:30-4:50pm — Anna Savage (’18) plays songs on her guitar.
North College Lawn (Rain Site: ’92 Theater)
2-2:20pm — Sneaky Boy
Sneaky Boy is Ben Saldich, Adam Blake, Jake Rogers, and Julian Johnson. They play “Alternative Rock.”
2:30-2:50pm — MEG
“self-described wizards of rock and roll bring you a new take on the classic genre. money. energy. guns.” They are Chris Reed, Meg West, and Jake Rogers.
3-3:20pm — Dinomanic
Dinomanic is Lily Landeau ’17, Julia Tyminski ’17, Matthew Forker ’17, Alex Lee ’17, and Torie Davids ’17. They are a “gently psychedelic, dino-funk group” and they play a lot of good jams. Watch them play an original, “Free to Be,” at ADP last spring.
3:30-3:50pm — Yer Trash
Yer Trash is Will King ’17, Zeno Scott ’17, Dan Muro ’17, and Ryan Breen ’17. They made their debut last spring and damn it’s good:
4-4:20pm — the good lonely
the good lonely is a really fun trio comprised of Bram Wollowitz, Janak Preston, and Jacob Bielenson. I like them a lot. Their latest album, ‘Could Be Flowers,’ is below:
4:30-4:50pm — Mom
Mom formed in 2014 and is Sam Friedman ’18, Ben Klausner ’18, and Jonah Wolfson ’17. They wrote to us last year: “we play some funky jams, we do some music and we do uptown funk. nothing more nothing less”. No website yet, but they said that they “will soon ; )”
Center for the Arts (Rain site: World Music Hall)
2-2:20pm — Rui Barbosa
Rui Barbosa the man has an epic mustache. Rui Barbosa the band lacks in facial hair, but makes up for it with COOL JAMS of the funk/rock/jazz variety. They are Johnnie Gillmore ’18, Adam Rochelle ’17, and Jonah Wolfson ’17.
2:30-2:50pm — BOSSY
BOSSY is an all-girl quintet that’s “scrappy and full of youth,” playing “not quite pop, not quite punk.”
3-3:20pm — Lo-Qi
This is Jack Graylin ’17 and Jonah Toussaint ’17. They play “delightfully rambunctious hip-hop; we got str8 political bangERS”. Cool! Their alternate self-description is: “Rap duo from Somerville and Switzerland. Here to denounce corporate oppression, systematic racism, and wack MC’s. Here are their two Soundcloud pages, neither of which is for Lo-Qi as a unit, but you can get the gist.
3:30-3:50pm — McCleary McCleary
This band plays music similar to the good lonely, but with a bit more of a folk twist? Hard to describe. I guess you’ll just have to see them.
4-4:20pm — Going Up North for the Weekend
This group is new and I could not find any information on them! We’re all in for a ~surprise~ then.
4:30-4:50pm — Slouch
Slouch is Shea Fitzpatrick ’17, Lucas Hegewich ’18, Kafilah Muhammad ’18, and Sallie Fullerton ’18, and they play classic rawk-inspired jams. Aural Wes interviewed them last year, and you can read more about what they’ve done at Wes / what their influences are.
Main Stage on Foss Hill (Rain site: Crowell Concert Hall)
5-5:20pm — The Highlanders
When I searched on facebook for ‘the highlanders,’ all I got was a closed group of rugby players from New Zealand. (if you are a member of the Highlanders please email staff at wesleying dot org so we can have more appropriate information about you)
5:30-5:50pm — Jal & Locus
Jal is Sahil Singhvi ’18 and Locus is Eric Poretsky ’18, and they’re apparently ‘your grandma’s favorite rappers.’
6-6:20pm — Chef
Chef is a band of all seniors — Henry Kinder, Isaac Butler-Brown, Miles McLeod, Anthony Dean, Adam Rochelle, Annie Flom, Lydia Elmer, Mimi Goldstein, Willie Molski, and Max Luton. They play “Some Hip-Hop/Funk/Soul jamz.” Their Bandcamp page is here. Since several members were abroad, they’re back from a semester-long hiatus and about to release a new album, ‘Ten.’
6:30-7:30pm — El Niño
This year’s alumni band is El Niño, which is Peter Horton ’13, Croy Salinas ’13, Aidan Boardman ’13, and Will Davis ’13. They operate out of Brooklyn these days and they “strive to put meaning in your life and a twitch in your booty.” Here’s their newest single, “Phantom Power”:
Anyway, that’s the MASH! wilk is going live on our Facebook page for some of the shows, so tune in this afternoon. see u there~