Alternative pop duo Magdalena Bay, with opener Six Foot Blonde, will perform at the IU Auditorium at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. This concert is a part of the events being held the week leading up to Little 500 weekend in Bloomington.
Magdalena Bay is made up of artists Mica Tenenbaum and Matthew Lewin. The group was founded in 2016 and currently has over 4 million monthly listeners on Spotify.
Magdalena Bay is known for its synth-pop style, with some of the group’s more well-known tracks being “Image” from their most recent album “Imaginal Disk” as well as “Killshot,” which has over 170 million streams on Spotify.
The concert is being coordinated by the IU Union Board Live From Bloomington committee, which organizes concerts for IU and the Bloomington community. Victoria Rowe, director of LFB, said she is excited to finally bring back Little 500 concerts after not having one in a few years due to the costs of such events. In years past, LFB has hosted artists for the Little 500 such as Noah Kahan, Peach Pit and Charli xcx.
“When IU Auditorium came to Union Board with this idea, we were just ecstatic to be able to do something,” Rowe said.
Opening for Magdalena Bay is Six Foot Blonde, a Bloomington-based indie rock band. The band is made up of six members: Julia Rusyniak, Elliott Obermaier, Brian Healey, Zach Patrick, Dom Heyob and John Alex Rusyniak. They formed the band during their college years amid the COVID-19 pandemic and now play about 70 venues each year.
The members of Six Foot Blonde are all recent IU graduates who now live in Chicago. They still regularly play in Bloomington, primarily at The Bluebird. Rowe said Live From Bloomington values being able to host a band that is deeply rooted in local culture.
Heyob said the band was incredibly excited when it heard it was going to open for Magdalena Bay, viewing the group as influential to their own music.
“Anytime that you get a chance to play with some people that have influenced how you play music yourself, like, that's a pretty cool experience,” Heyob said.
While the week of the Little 500 is filled with excitement for the men and women’s bike races, Rowe said music will help bring together all kinds of IU students.
“Lived experience together through music is a huge part of everyone's lives,” Rowe said. “And I think to be able to do that during Little Five week is amazing.”
Tickets are on sale now, priced between $44-74 depending on seating section. IU students will receive a small discount on their purchase with proof of student ID.
