Students shine at University Union concert — 20 Watts Magazine

The student organization showcased multiple student artists

By Kyle Henderson / Photos from Corey Henry & Daily Orange

On Friday, November 12, University Union held a student show in Goldstein Auditorium. Featuring a wide variety of student artists from varying genres, the concert proved to be an exciting showcase of the talent among the Syracuse University student body.

Opening the show was 19-year-old singer-songwriter Sadie Miller. Hailing from Los Angeles, CA, Miller kicked off the concert with a string of acoustic, rather personal ballads. She started out slow, engaging the crowd with impressive vocals and meaningful lyrics. She even hopped on the piano to perform a few tracks, such as “Pretty Boys” and “With You.”

While she did sing a few more upbeat tracks, her set list consisted of primarily slow songs about personal subjects. Miller’s lyricism is commendable, and her act was strong all around, setting a calm tone for the night. It was a relaxing opener for what later on would become a much more high energy event.

Next up on the lineup was sophomore rapper Knowahh. With a projection of stormy clouds setting his stage, he provided a nice dose of energy to get the crowd more active following His act was a welcome boost of energy to the more relaxed crowd following Miller’s tranquil set. The Queens, NY-based artist performed some tracks from his recently released project, Beautiful Nightmare, and worked to get the crowd more hyped up.

Knowahh cooking on stage on the mic and in his big black puffer jacket.

Compared to some of the other acts performing, Knowahh is a fairly new artist, and not as well-known in the SU music scene. He did fairly well throughout his set, keeping the energy and cycling through his discography, and I’m interested to see where he’ll go next. Considering he’s only a sophomore, he has plenty of time to further establish himself and his image, and only time will tell where he goes next.

Following Knowahh was Zack Dacierno, better known as 33col3. A junior in SU’s Bandier Program, he walked out in his trademark horned ski mask and jumped into high gear immediately. The autotuned microphone and futuristic sounds might take a moment to adjust to, but his high energy set made him easy to enjoy.

33col3 has previously said he’s been inspired by artists such as Playboi Carti, and hopes to bring a similar energy and atmosphere to his own shows. This much was clear during his set, where he had an evidently hyped up group of fans bouncing around and creating smaller mosh pits to rage in. 33col3 ended his set by bringing up Picture Us Tiny frontman Jackson Velli to perform their collaboration “Pet Bear.” The song was more reminiscent of Picture Us Tiny’s style, but 33col3 made his mark, and showed his versatility within different genres and sounds.

Speaking of the band, the final act of the night was pop-punk band Picture Us Tiny. Headed by Velli, the band has been extremely active in the house show scene, building up a solid fanbase and cementing themselves as a fixture in the SU music scene. They delivered the same excitement to the stage for the final act, showcasing the skills that have made them such a popular act.

Picture Us Tiny showing us why they play music instead of draw pictures.

The energy of the band’s performance can’t be understated. They were all running around, jumping up and down. Guitarist Vir Bhatra even jumped off the stage for a brief moment. Velli added in his own random anecdotes between songs, from asking the crowd for good jokes while Bhatra changed guitar strings, to naming Fearless as his favorite Taylor Swift album. His authentic presence on stage made him more fun to watch, and it kept the set flowing smoothly.

While Velli is the frontman, all of the band members were in top form, and their performance showed how they perform as a unit. Bhatra was a great compliment to Velli, matching the energy and interacting with the crowd just as much. Drummer Nick Beebower had his moments to shine, including one where he performed while blindfolded. Anish Ghosh, while quieter, let his performance do all the talking. This certainly wasn’t Picture Us Tiny’s first rodeo, and they were by far the highlight of the night.

Picture Us Tiny front man, Jackson Velli, pouring all of his emotion into the microphone.

Overall, the concert was fun and offered up a portion of what SU student artists have to offer. The crowd, however, was on the smaller side, and at times it felt like they weren’t always engaged with the performers. While the energy did pick up as the night progressed, the awkward lulls from a lack of crowd engagement came rather frequently and detracted from the solid performances. It’s a shame, really; all of the acts were entertaining, and they proved in this show that they’re deserving of far more than a dead crowd.