Quietdrive brought the alternative rock to campus, Sonos brought an a cappella sound and Will Marfori brought the laughter.
But what was missing from the lineup?
Looking for a diverse sound from performers, the Student Activities Board brought piano-pop performer Nathan Angelo to Pomerantz Stage on Nov. 10.
Band committee co-chairs for SAB, Jen Calder and Michael Riebel, are in charge of getting the bands on campus that last year’s committee decided on. Even though they weren’t the ones to choose Angelo, they felt he fit into this year’s lineup well.
“We’re looking for a larger variety of bands that target more than one type of student,” Calder said.
Angelo mixed right in with that goal.
“He had a coffee shop sound,” Calder said. “It was a nice, uplifting break from homework.”
Born in Atlanta, Angelo was exposed to music at a very young age. Coming from a family of musicians, he started playing piano at the age of 6. At age 10, Angelo started to lead his father’s congregation in music. This eventually led him to become a volunteer director of music at his father’s church until he left for college.
“My dad’s church is where I really plugged in,” he said. “Learning to play by ear was a big deal.”
Now, a newcomer in the music scene, Angelo has his own album with 13 tracks.
Big influences in Angelo’s life includes music from the ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s, specifically Coldplay, Stevie Wonder, The Beatles and the lead singer from The Killers.
His first album, titled “Through Playing Me” is a mix of songs inspired by Angelo’s life experiences.
He wrote the song “Love Sucks” in college.
“It’s a true place, it’s a real place,” Angelo said before performing it. “You know what I’m talking about. Love really does suck sometimes.”
However, writing songs hasn’t always been easy for Angelo. While in college, Angelo got away from his writer’s block by going to a burrito joint. As he sat there with college friends, one of them said, “Man, I need a woman.”
This one sentence sparked something in Angelo.
“You can blame this one on the burrito,” Angelo joked before starting his song “I Need a Woman.”
Angelo wrote another song, titled “Way Past Love,” in two months after getting a call from his sister, because she was getting married and wanted her brother to play a song at her wedding.
“We took baths together, it was the least I could do,” Angelo said.
Other songs in the lineup included a few tracks from his upcoming album “Follow Your Heart” and covers “Let It Be” by The Beatles and “Teenage Dream” by Katy Perry.
Angelo has been on tour for three months and has experienced many different audiences while traveling from different colleges and venues around the United States.
“Sometimes performing on college campuses, students can be too cool for school,” he said. “But that was definitely not the case tonight.”
Although many of the students attending the event had never heard of Angelo, they enjoyed what they heard.
Kristi Vann left the show feeling happy she came and listened.
“I have never heard of Nathan Angelo,” she said. “But I really liked him. He’s a great performer.”
Some students were just walking through Olmsted while Angelo was performing and stopped to hear him.
Taylor Armstrong, a first-year, got a text from one of her friends to come to Pomerantz Stage after they saw everyone crowded around the stage and stopped out of curiosity.
“I wish I would have known about it sooner,” Armstrong said. “I was really bummed that I only got to hear like, one song.”
Angelo’s EP “These Ol’ Keys” is now available on iTunes along with his first album “Through Playing Me.”
Photo courtesy of Drake SAB
