An audience teeming with IU students and fans gathered to listen to EDM and rock songs at the annual IU Welcome Week Party Block Concert on Saturday in the parking lot near 13th Street and Fee Lane.
The Union Board, Residence Hall Association and Residential Programs and Services organized the Welcome Week Block Party and built a lineup that included playful rock band Andromedaughter, former IU student and EDM DJ Jeff Anguil and Kaskade, a Grammy-nominated producer and remixer of dance anthems.
Before the Block Party Concert began, the RHA, RPS and Union Board played host to a free carnival from 5 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., offering games, obstacle courses and various food trucks.
Upon entry, concertgoers grabbed food inside the venue at the Big Cheeze food truck. Drink stations and tables selling merchandise such as Kaskade hats were also available.
Noah Bryles, a junior majoring in marketing and management at the Kelley School of Business, worked the Block Party and was the music director on the 110th Union Board. Bryles was tasked with accommodating the artists and keeping them comfortable and happy during their time at the venue.
“The biggest perk of my job is how much I have learned,” Bryles said. “Working directly with production teams, contracting talent, creating a marketing plan and managing a team for the show are all great skills I learned from this role.”
Bryles and Ike Eguzouwa, the other music co-director who is a senior studying information systems and supply chain management, had been planning the show since early spring.
“We had worked all week to prep for the show, making sure our production was loaded in and our logistics ran according to schedule," Bryles said. "A happy artist and their team helps everything go smoothly."
The concert kicked off at 10 p.m. with Andromedaughter, a four-person band made up of Sara Warner on vocals and ukulele, Nona Anderson on guitar, Blake McKean on drums and Leslie Lopez on bass. Formed last school year, the band touts a cosmic, soft punk sound and performs both original songs and covers.
“How does it feel to finally be at college?” Warner asked the audience, who met his question with uproar and enthused cheering.
Carson Lane, a freshman from Illinois, said she liked the artwork Andromedaughter had up on the stage which consisted of a neon cartoon depiction of the band alongside the band’s name.
Anguil, a 21-year-old DJ from Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, and former IU student, played mixes of EDM with lively beats flanked by background visuals on an LED screen. The brightly colored, futuristic, geometric visuals on display for Anguil’s set were created by Whitney Peterson, a senior at IU majoring in virtual production and lighting design, which is a major she is creating.
“The concert was amazing," Peterson said. "The committee did a fantastic job of making it a successful, fun and safe night, which is most important. It’s so cool that we are able to have these annual events with such talented artists.”
Finally, Kaskade took the stage and brought pulsing beats to the sea of dimly lit faces in the crowd. His set consisted of his own remixes and productions alongside pixelated glowing lights to enhance the performance. It was also accompanied by retro video game visuals and swirling graphics of his name on the screen behind him.
Kaskade played his hits “Fun” and “Disarm You,” as well as remixes of “Levels” by Avicii and “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen.
The end of the night was punctuated by an explosion of confetti, which was strewn across the parking lot. Kaskade closed the show by climbing on top of the stage to take a video on his phone after saying he wanted to show his mom "how you do in Bloomington.”
