Tufts University is experiencing a renaissance of live music through JumBonnaroo and other similar live music events. In an era of digital music that is produced and distributed faster than most music blogs can track, Tufts' live music scene is only growing, feeding off of its high demand and strong reception on campus. In its third semester, JumBonnaroo is set to feature a diverse group of artists for its spring line-up: Waldo, Blue Ives, Rollersnakes, MTSA, Everest, Dusty 9 and Yonas Dinkneh. More artists will be announced, according to the JumBonnaroo Facebook event page, as several bands and venues withdrew after changes were made to the event last night.
The Daily sat down with Ben Silver, co-chair of the JumBonnaroo Committee for Relay for Life.
Ask Ben Silver what he likes about the Tufts music scene, and the energy he exudes about Tufts music and the music culture here is palpable. Silver, a junior majoring in political science, is the man running the show -- the show being the three-day music festival known as JumBonnaroo, which features some of Tufts’ best bands, DJs, rappers and solo music acts -- which is organized to play music for Tufts students and support the American Cancer Society by raising money and providing exposure for Tufts Relay for Life (RFL) in April. Since joining the Executive Board of Tufts RFL his sophomore year, Silver has worked tirelessly to promote events that foster community engagement with Tufts RFL while also providing students with opportunities to hear great live music. JumBonnaroo, his creation, debuted in spring 2014.
With experience in the music business and the Tufts music scene, it’s safe to say that Ben is at home in a musical setting; having spent the past summer interning with Live Nation for the Katy Perry, Lionel Richie and James Taylor tours and working in sponsorship to help brands and artists promote their material, now set to work this upcoming summer at the Governor’s Ball with stars like Drake and The Black Keys .
As a main source of music booking on campus, Ben loves discussing the vibrant scene that is now growing at Tufts. “I was really excited the other day when I got an invitation for an AppleJam and Midnight at Tufts show -- those are two booking groups on campus -- that were [happening] the same nights as JumBonnaroo, because that meant that there was more than one live music option on a given night.”
Silver is a brother at Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity and special events coordinator for RFL. “Combining my personal interests of Relay with my professional interests of wanting to go into the music business and working for festivals, I thought JumBonnaroo would be the perfect way to do that.”
In the future, Silver hopes to make the event appeal to a wider range of students. Despite being a strong supporter of using the fraternities for the music festival, he recognizes the trepidation of some members of the Tufts community to engage in events in a fraternity setting. While Silver believes that music can be a common ground for students, he also looks to add special interest housing to the list of performance spaces for JumBonnaroo in coming semesters.
Silver has chosen groups to perform at this semester’s JumBonnaroo, expanding upon the six-band line-up in the fall semester. “I try to make this [music festival] as eclectic as possible,” he said.
As a preview, the Tufts Daily talked to two of the three of the groups set to perform at Alpha Tau Omega (ATO) Fraternity on Thursday night and one DJ set to perform at Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity on Friday night: Blue Ives, RollerSnakes and Everest respectively.
Blue Ives is a self-described neo-soul, jazz and R&B music collective who blend classic soul (think Al Green, Marvin Gaye) with modern day R&B-pop favorites (Beyoncé, Usher). The band is comprised of Travis Percy on vocals, Aidan Scrimgeour on keyboard, Erik Broess on guitar, Gabe Rothman on trombone, Grant Steinhauer on tenor sax, Andrew Schneer on trumpet, Gabe Terracciano on bass and Jackson Fulk-Logon on drums. The group is an eight-man collective that likes to describe itself more as “musical collaborators” than a band, due to its commitment to evolution and musical collaboration rather than strictly following the "band" trope, which they believe often defines and limits other groups. Its name takes on this tradition of collaboration -- Blue Ives is a blend of Blue Ivy (Beyoncé’s daughter) and Charles Ives, a 19th-century American composer known for his style of blending dissimilar and dissonant sounds and genres of music, yet creating harmonious pieces. Broess said, “I’ve always seen this group as less of a band and more of a collaboration ... It certainly is a very collaborative process between all of us ... It’s not the members, it’s the music itself.”
Schneer, a senior, stated, “I’d say the Tufts music scene is very diverse. If there’s a place that you want to try a new or different type of band, instrumentation, music, genre, this is the place to do it. I had never been in a funk band before, and I started one last semester. I’ve seen all kinds of things.”
Terracciano, a fourth-year dual degree student with Tufts and the New England Conservatory, spoke to the opportunities for performing on campus: “There are certainly venues to play. I feel that there’s certain amount of influence that bands take from one another.” Terracciano mentioned the “echoes” that can manifest between different groups who often share members, often producing a sense osmotic crossover. Terracciano praised this collaborative atmosphere, and cited his own musical development as a result of participating in different groups on campus. He added, however, “Finding a unique voice in an atmosphere like that can be difficult at times, and it’s something that takes a lot of careful examination and a lot of work.”
Broess described this music environment with the same admiration: “It seems like there’s a lot of respect for any kind of artistry on campus ... There’s a lot of collaboration between groups. There’s also a lot of support between groups.” As to Blue Ives' role on campus, he added, “I think our vision is that we sort of fill a niche on campus. I don’t know exactly what that niche is. I find it hard to describe a single umbrella that we fit under because, the songs that we’re playing come from different genres, different styles ... We look for an element of each song that makes it different, like [Beyonce's] 'Love On Top' (2011), that major seventh in the melody and that tritone in the bass. That’s something that’s like, not necessarily the focal point of the song, but we’ll hone in on that and that will kind of be the base for when we start arranging the song."
A group with infectious energy, Blue Ives channels its rambunctious zest into its music. In a rehearsal that the Daily attended, the band's zeal and unique style gave it a je ne sais quoi that is unmistakable yet intangible.
Andrew Schneer summed up the genius of JumBonnaroo succinctly: “It brings music to where the people are.”
Regarding events like JumBonnaroo, as well as his own experience performing at Sigma Epsilon Fraternity for Spring Fling last year, Terracianno said, “You’re seeing a reemergence of live music as a viable entertainment tool and as something that people are really actually interested in, and that’s very heartening to see.”
Michael Nuzzolo, a senior majoring in computer engineering and minoring in music engineering, is the bassist for RollerSnakes -- in addition to doing backup vocals and producing the band’s songs. Rollersnakes is an indie rock band made up of Nuzzolo on bass, Dave Igliozzi on vocals and guitar, Harrison Kim on vocals and guitar and Eric Broess (the same Eric Broess of Blue Ives) on drums. Nuzzolo describes the band as similar to Two Door Cinema Club. When the Daily sat in on a rehearsal, it was clear that the band is similar to early Weezer or the White Stripes, but also has lower-key, California-cool elements as well. As someone who has worked as a producer on the records and EPs of other Tufts bands like Waldo, as well as toured with a band before matriculating at Tufts, Nuzzolo has a unique perspective from being both behind the scenes and in the spotlight. “There’s definitely a lot of variety of genres. And you’ll see shows with bands with totally different genres playing together, but it kind of works,” Nuzzolo said of the music scene at Tufts. “I mean, I think for the most part the bands are friends because they’ve played shows together and everyone knows of each other ... It’s definitely a cool thing to be a part of.” RollerSnakes played its first show at JumBonnaroo last semester, and Nuzzolo notes the importance of the event to give different groups a chance to perform. “I think Ben does a great job of inviting a lot of bands who are pretty popular already, while also giving those bands that aren’t well known yet a shot.”
Grant Steinhauer, a first-year who plays tenor sax for Blue Ives, stated, "Any event that hosts live music is phenomenal. College students are keeping that alive, attending live music whether on campus or off campus. But, outside of the college world, that is definitely a dying thing. People aren't going to listen to bands that aren't well known. So I love that concept [of JumBonnaroo]."
Arden Fereshetian, a first-year who creates electronic music as a DJ under the moniker "Everest," is performing at JumBonnaroo on Friday. Fereshetian spoke to the Daily about the uniquely diverse opportunity that JumBonnaroo allows DJs, giving them a chance to experiment with new music in a high-energy setting. "I think JumBonnaroo is a chance for you to showcase a few different styles. I want to play a lot more underground trap, and I think I want to open with low-key mood-setters instead of just going straight into rap throwbacks or straight-up house which I usually play," Fereshetian said. "That doesn't mean that the rap throwbacks won't be there though."
As of now, JumBonnaroo is still set to take place as planned on Friday with the original lineup and venue. Thursday's concerts, after losing one performer, will now take place at ATO at 10 p.m. and feature Waldo, Blue Ives and Rollersnakes. Saturday's venue has been switched to Delta Upsilon Fraternity, and after losing multiple performers will feature Yonas Dinekh, i-NU and Alex Spring.
