As the spring semester comes to an end, the New Paltz Music Collective has hosted its last show of the semester. Throughout the entire year, the club has paved the path for some stellar performances. From debuting local student bands to creating cozy open-mic nights, the Music Collective has allowed for everyone to come together and share a love for music within the campus community.
This past week on Saturday, April 29, Student Union Building (SUB) 62/63 was transformed to accommodate a slew of talented performances to dazzle the crowd. The lineup included the bands Yes Ma’am, Dog Thang, Bird Week and Art Thief. The zine feature’s theme was a house show survival guide, which is very fitting for those in attendance. In usual fashion, the club had a spot to creatively sign-in, remarking “prove you were here” on top.
This past week’s show was quite the bittersweet event, as it was club’s president Alli Dempsey’s last show to coordinate. “I’m going to miss everything about this club so much. I’ve met so many of my closest friends through it so it will definitely be weird to not see them every week,” Dempsey shared. “Obviously, I’m going to miss booking bands and planning the lineups. It’s so fun and makes me feel creative to plan that aspect of the shows.”
The eager crowd gathered around the set to be serenaded by the talented individuals in the lineup. One of New Paltz’s favorite bands, Dog Thang, amazed the audience with their skillful setlist.
“Before a performance, there’s totally a lot that goes into rehearsing — before the band, we are friends, so we always make sure we’re doing well, or well enough to get to work,” Dog Thang’s frontman Ethan Jones stated. “Everyone comes in knowing our individual parts and form of the song and with an open attitude to take the song wherever we wanna go with it and make sure we’re not afraid to have good/bad ideas.”
Another local favorite, Yes Ma’am, rocked the crowd and shared a touching anecdote about the club.“I’ve been going to NPMC shows since I was a freshman at New Paltz all the way back in 2017,” Yes Ma’am drummer Julia Bellontine said. “When I first saw a show there it was beyond my wildest dreams that I’d actually play at it one day.”
The show was quite the success, with a wonderful turnout and a handful of gifted musicians. Stay tuned for upcoming shows and events next semester with the New Paltz Music Collective.
“I have high hopes for the future generation of NPMC. I’m going to be holding E-Board interviews to get an idea of what they all have in mind for the next chapter,” Dempsey remarked. “So far, all of the new members that have come into the club over the past year are super passionate and driven about making live music happen on this campus, so I’m excited to see what amazing plans they’re going to come up with.”
