Under string lights and October drizzle, students crowded into a Maple Street backyard Saturday afternoon to dance and sing along to indie rock band Good Neighbours. Local Mojo organized an intimate concert by the band with over 7 million Spotify listeners, which was followed by a student DJ set by Perl.
In the corner of an off-campus backyard provided by Lambda Chi Alpha, Local Mojo set up a wooden stage shaded by fall foliage. Onstage, Good Neighbours’ two vocalists were accompanied by a small band featuring a guitarist, drummer and pianist. Some students watched the performance from the house behind, leaning out of balconies and windows.
Local Mojo co-President and Weinberg senior Max Garon called the event a total success. Much communication went into Saturday’s performance, and the concert was mutually beneficial for the British duo, he said.
“Good Neighbours was eager to play a school like Northwestern, where they knew people would bring the energy and show up for a set like theirs,” Garon said. “We were able to put something special together.”
Local Mojo has been hosting events almost every week this quarter, but Garon said it was especially exciting to see the turnout for Good Neighbours with a packed backyard.
From sitting in on Zoom calls and making posters, to hauling equipment and building a stage setup — Garon said the concert required all hands on deck from Local Mojo members.
“It was one of the most rewarding experiences of my time here at Northwestern,” he said.
Communication junior Audrey Sy,the marketing director for Local Mojo,said she felt more pressure than usual to make the marketing efforts successful, since she was promoting a bigger artist.
Sy echoed Garon, saying it was nice to see people come together for an event she had worked so hard for.
“It was the first time we were working with this really huge international band,” Sy said. “The promotion was honestly fairly simple in the end; the event kind of promoted itself.”
First-year computer science PhD student Zoie Zhao said that while she was waiting for the band to come onstage, she was skeptical of how much she would enjoy the show.
But, Zhao said she quickly lost herself in the music as Good Neighbours encouraged students to squat, jump and wave their hands.
“I like how they had audience engagement activity, and they had us stand up and sit down at different points during the performance,” Zhao said.
Garon said he wanted students to take away that “the sky is the limit” when it comes to putting on music-centered events at NU.
“There’s no end to the possibilities,” Garon said. “Any artist can come here if you say the right words to them. We need to make sure there is a community around music and people show up to both big artists and to student bands, so that sense of community we felt on Saturday will continue to grow and grow.”
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