Neon Trees to deliver second concert of the semester

The Hopkins Organization for Programming (the HOP) announced that Neon Trees will be performing on campus on Nov. 9.

This is the second of two major concerts— Avicii being the first—thus far planned for the fall semester, demonstrating a collective effort by university and student agencies to bring more musical performances to campus.

Neon Trees, an alternative rock band founded in 2004, received their first record deal in 2008 after being the opening act for The Killers’ North American tour.  The band first gained commercial success with its hit single “Animal” in 2010, and is currently recognized for their single “Everybody Talks,” which peaked at #6 on Billboard’s top 100 chart.

In the week since the announcement, students have expressed excitement about the recent initiative to fortify campus culture.

“Avicii was awesome... It was enjoyable to do something different, off campus,” freshman Maria Diaz said.

Many students have stressed an interest in having outdoor performances at Homewood. Neon Trees, however, will perform in the Ralph S. O’Connor Recreation Center, the standard campus venue for large-scale concerts.

“Last year I didn’t really see that many performances.  I saw one thing on the Beach and I thought it was really cool,” sophomore Alexa Lantiere said, “I think if we had a lot more of that it would be really cool, it would be a lot of fun. It would be a great idea to have more out-in-the-open concerts.”

Nonetheless,there seems to be a consensus among students: a diversion is a diversion, no matter what the venue.

“Hopkins is a stressful place,” freshman Amanda Lorenco said. “We need some entertainment for the weekends. We can’t spend every hour studying.”

Students cite the thrill of “big-name” artists at Hopkins and the appeal of breaking away from the activities of a standard weekend.

“I feel that musical performances are a way to increase our sense of community and school spirit,” sophomore Isabella Ciuffetelli said. “Take Avicii, for example. Even though the concert wasn’t on campus, [most of the people] there were Hopkins kids, so it kind of felt like we owned the venue for that night. The event was very well planned. I originally wasn’t planning on taking the bus, [but] I ended up in one by chance and the system was effective and reliable.  In comparison with last year, I have the impression that this year is going to be better.  Far East Movement and Passion Pit were fun, but I feel like Neon Trees will have a larger crowd and I really hope they bring in someone bigger for Spring Fair.”

Having two immensely popular artists perform on campus in such a short period of time has caused much speculation as to the next artist to visit Hopkins.

“It’s really easy for these performers to come to Hopkins, and it’s exciting to have more people on campus,” senior Paige Boehmcke said.

Freshman Sid Steinkuehler agreed.

“Hopkins’ initiative to bring more musical performers to campus is exciting. It brings everyone closer together and lets them have a good time in a non-academic setting,” Steinkuehler said.