Sunday Cruise, a Chicago-based alternative rock and indie band, headlined a concert at the University of Minnesota’s Whole Music Club Saturday with Minneapolis multi-genre band Shrimp Olympics and St. Paul-based indie band BlueDriver.
For a night of upbeat indie music, the music club had a buy one get one ticket sale, where attendees could buy $5 student tickets or $10 general public tickets and get the second ticket free.
Shrimp Olympics kicked off the event performing psychedelic pop and progressive rock songs from their set list. The band performs genres including psychedelic pop, country rock, jazz, noise experiments, progressive rock and baroque pop. BlueDriver’s set followed.
The Whole Music Club offers students the opportunity to see local and national music icons for affordable prices on campus. The concert Saturday concluded with Sunday Cruise performing.
Music Event Planner Berenice Sandoval-Solis said she started planning the event last spring semester. Her favorite part of the event was interacting with all the students.
“I just love being a part of that,” Sandoval said. “Just seeing all the people come out and just kind of make the community.”
Sandoval said the event created a quality space for people to come see live music.
“A lot of our shows are usually not that expensive,” Sandoval said. “So it’s good to have like, a place where young people can come and just enjoy music.”
Sandoval said students should come to concerts like this at the Whole Music Club to have a good vibe and be with the community.
Zoe Garcia, founder, singer, songwriter and guitarist for Sunday Cruise, said it was important for the group to perform on the University of Minnesota campus so they could provide good music and good hospitality for students and the community.
Cassidy McGill, bassist for Sunday Cruise, said the concert was important for students caught up in finals studies or grappling with seasonal depression.
“It’s nice to have somewhere to go that’s social and like an outing, and you know, just like be at a show and listen to music,” McGill said. “And just have a way to get away from whatever is in their dorm room or in their classroom.”
Lead Guitarist for Sunday Cruise Camden Kiefer said it is important for the group to perform on the University’s campus because college-aged students are at the right time in their lives to embrace music.
“There’s a lot of people who are just at a point in their life where they’re discovering themselves, and music is, usually, a good part of a lot of people’s life in that sense and identities,” Kiefer said. “It’s always good to play places that we’re not from because people know us and haven’t seen us, and then they’re so excited, and I’m excited.”
Third-year student Taava Johnson said she came to the event to see Sunday Cruise.
Johnson said the show allows small communities of people to come and support local bands and love music. She added she was surprised by how much she enjoyed the music and that this is a good way for local bands to be represented.
First-year student Abdihafid Mohamed said he learned of the event from an Instagram ad and said it sounded fun.
Mohamed said when he goes to events like these, he feels he is exposing himself to different cultures within the local music scene.
“We surround ourselves with people we feel more comfortable with, and pushing yourself in non-comfortable spaces where you’re not entirely surrounded by people of your own identity is really key to expanding your comprehension of other social groups,” Mohamed said.
Mohamed hopes more people can check out events like this and support local bands.
“It’s like, really chill, because there aren’t a lot of people,” Mohamed said.”But it’s also vibey and you can sense that everyone’s enjoying the music, which I really appreciate.”
