Northwestern students packed Welsh-Ryan Arena on Thursday night and crowded the floor during Blowout, an annual fall concert hosted by student-run entertainment board A&O Productions.
This year’s headliner, A Boogie Wit da Hoodie, transformed the sports venue into a high-energy concert as students moshed and screamed the lyrics to hits like “Drowning” and “Look Back at It.”
As doors opened at 7 p.m., organizers handed out free burritos. Northwestern Athletics then organized a basketball preseason event, which included introductions to the men’s and women’s teams along with speeches from both coaches. Anticipation grew as students were let onto the floor and RHOME & Friends, a set led by rapper and NU alum RHOME (Weinberg ’23), took the stage before A Boogie’s performance.
For many students, the event was more than a free concert — It was a moment of unity and spirit.
“I think it definitely helps build community,” Medill sophomore Darasimi Bankole said. “Because almost the whole school is here, I think it’s a really good chance to see people that maybe you didn’t actually come with. Everyone’s just good energy and everyone’s very positive.”
For others, Blowout’s accessibility brought people together as much as its scale.
Weinberg freshman Nanees Abakar said even though A Boogie is not a super popular artist, his work is still well-known among students, making him a fitting choice for Blowout.
“I think one of the biggest barriers to people finding community is income,” Abakar said. “So I think it’s great that they’re improving accessibility to things like concerts. Like there are some people who have never seen a celebrity in a concert because they just never had the means to.”
One of A&O’s goals is promoting that sense of community, said Weinberg senior Max Garon, co-chair of the organization.
Garon said A&O’s concert committee selects each Blowout artist, pursuing one or two big names based on what it believes NU students will enjoy. The process is then passed down to the production committee, which handles equipment, travel and other technicalities.
Garon said throughout Blowout’s development process, his biggest surprise came from the opener, RHOME & Friends, who was put onto A&O’s radar by Northwestern Athletics.
“Seeing the love (for) him as a Northwestern alum and having other Northwestern alums on stage with him, really made for a really special moment,” Garon said. “(It was) a really special set as a whole, seeing so many amazing Northwestern artists on stage, absolutely killing it.”
Like Bankole and Abakar, Garon said events like Blowout and Dillo Day are important in fostering community and giving students an outlet to celebrate together.
For him, being able to put together an event that rallies people around live music was both special and meaningful and something he was grateful to witness.
“I think they are needed in any community to have an event that everyone can get behind. That’s why I think the work we do at A&O is so important,” Garon said. “And I think these are invaluable to any community, especially the Northwestern one, which maybe doesn’t always feel the most connected. We’re all one school. It goes a long way.”
Email: oliviama2025@u.northwestern.edu
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