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Friday, March 29
The Indiana Daily Student

student life

Small concert draws students

Biz Strother performs at Live From Bloomington Presents on Wednesday evening. Local musicians took part in the event that was held at the Indiana Memorial Union Starbucks.

Sophomore Tyler Rodino, a guitarist and vocalist for the band Postcard, stayed calm as he checked the equipment onstage a mere 20 minutes before their performance.

His band was peforming at Union Board’s Live from Bloomington Presents on Wednesday night.

LFB Presents is a series of small-scale concerts happening twice a month, programmed by the Live from Bloomington committee.

Postcard was the first band to perform, followed by local band Mighty Brother and student performer Biz Strother.

“This is the fun part of the job,” Rodino said, testing a mic.

Although they are three members short, Rodino and sophomore Akshay Athawale, who plays piano, are not timid when performing.

“It’s got that chill vibe,” he said. “We’ll make do.”

Astrid Mejia, director of LFB for Union Board, said they hold these events to give local and student musicians a venue.

“We are mostly here to promote local artists and students and give them a place to perform,” she said.

The venue, Indiana Memorial Union Gallery, is a quaint stage opposite the cluster of tables and chairs in the IMU Starbucks. IMUG provides a relaxed atmosphere for performers and students alike, Mejia said.

“It is very much a relaxed atmosphere to appreciate the art of performance,” ?she said.

Mejia said the committee wants LFB Presents to grow beyond IMUG’s seating ?capacity.

Attendance is usually around 30 to 50 students, but they want to hold the event in a larger venue once interest in LFP Presents grows.

While some students stumble upon the event, a more purposeful audience has emerged at LFB ?Presents.

“We’ve had more people who come interested to see LFB, which is what we want,” Mejia said.

As of now, Mejia said, social media and word of mouth are their main sources of promotion, but they hope to contact the Bluebird Nightclub and WIUX student radio to get the word out. This semester, she wants to incorporate more IU student artists. She said a jazz night with the Jacobs School of Music is in ?the works.

“It’s not just students and it’s not just artists from Bloomington, it’s them ?together,” she said.

It speaks to the student audience’s interests as well, she said, by exposing them to different kinds of music.

“One of the things they always ask for is more concerts,” she said. “We’re here to provide for what the ?students want.”

The audience, scattered at tables in IMUG, kept the mellow atmosphere afloat. They did not object to an extra song in Postcard’s set, or the joke Athawale told to stall while Rodino tuned ?his guitar.

Mejia said this event inspires and influences students to take a break from their day-to-day routine.

“It’s a little escape for them to enjoy and appreciate music,” she said.

Freshman Katie Leigh looked up from her laptop to listen to certain songs. She agreed that the concert was a needed distraction from her work.

“This has absolutely made my day,” she said.

Leigh had not heard of LFB Presents officially but said that more people should attend.

“I love music anyway,” she said. “So it just makes me really happy.”

Although the crowd came and went in waves, Rodino said the attention was not important.

“Publicity is nice,” he said. “But we just like ?making music.”

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