August 26, 2018

Wrapping up Welcome Week events, the class of 2022 had the chance to go to an American Authors concert last Saturday night at the Mel Carnahan Quadrangle. Along with returning MU students, the new tigers kept the free Fall Welcome Concert tradition alive.

Starting out with the upbeat song “Go Big Or Go Home” from their album “What We Live For,” the quartet from Brooklyn, New York got the crowd dancing from the very beginning of the show. The band’s setlist also included works like their new single “Deep Water” and “Believer,” another well-known song from their first album “Oh, What A Life”. The most awaited moment of the concert, however, was their number one hit “Best Day Of My Life,” also from the band’s first album, that got everyone dancing to its chorus. They also had the crowd singing along to a cover of “Yellow” by Coldplay in their own version of the song.

“We try to think about what students would like, and what we always ask ourselves when we’re looking through bands is ‘Would we go see them?’” said Laura Bartig, assistant director of finance for the Campus Activities programming board. “It’s the kind of music that everyone can listen to and enjoy.”

According to Bartig, the expected attendance of the concert was between three and four thousand students. MU Stuff to Do also had stands distributing water bottles and hand sanitizers to help everyone at Carnahan Quad deal with the hot weather and also get to know about their work.

The show was part of Welcome Week, which is made mainly to introduce the incoming freshmen to MU’s campus. However, any MU student was welcome to attend. From freshmen to seniors, many in the crowd enjoyed the energetic set performed by the band, especially as the performers took their time to get to know the audience.

“We look for artists that engage with the crowd, which is a really cool thing since this is an event that is attended predominantly by freshmen,” Bartig said. “They can have this experience, feel the atmosphere winding down summer and [get] ready for school to start.”

Zac Barnett, American Authors’ lead vocalist, asked the audience about life at MU and places to go in Columbia, promoted their third album — which they’re releasing this fall — and joked around with the crowd.

As one of the closing events of this Fall Welcome Week, the concert got the class of 2022 excited and ready for the new school year ahead. The week was officially over after this Sunday’s Tiger Walk when freshmen ran through the Columns as the last of the welcoming events.

_Edited by Alexandra Sharp | asharp@themaneater.com_

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