A line of eager students will soon wind down the steps to Rediger Auditorium as Taylor’s annual throwback concert, Nostalgia Night, returns.
The Student Activities Council’s annual concert will feature hits from before the current senior class’s birth year: 2004. Some standouts from past years have included Stevie Wonder’s “Sir Duke” from 1976, Don McLean’s “American Pie” from 1971 and Tom Cochrane’s “Life is a Highway” from 1991. This year’s show will start at 8 p.m. on Saturday, March 7.
Every year, students line up hours before the concert to secure seats for their wings.
“It’s just really fun to see people from across campus coming out to support their wings and their friends,” Annie Troyer, a senior film and media arts major and member of SAC, said. “It’s just fun to be able to showcase a lot of the students that audition are not in chapel bands or choir or anything.”
Any Taylor student can audition, so part of the fun is seeing the musical talents of students who are not generally involved in music, Emmaline Farley, a senior marketing and management major and the president of SAC, said. There are always people that surprise SAC members in auditions with their skill.
The primary goal of Nostalgia Night is to showcase God-given talent across campus, she said. Thus, SAC’s audition process seeks to create a show representing the whole of Taylor’s campus.
“We also try to make sure we have a good representation of dorms and class, like freshmen, seniors, juniors, make sure we have everyone up there,” Farley said. “And then a good balance of bands, soloists, duos, guys, girls.”
The process of putting together the show takes hours as they choose and order acts, she said.
SAC evaluates auditions based on vocals, instrumentation, stage presence and audience appeal, she said. They also look for acts that stand out through costuming, choreography, song choice or other unique elements.
“With an event that happens really twice a year, every year, finding a way to make a show or an act unique goes a long way,” Micah Colquhoun, a senior finance major and member of SAC, said.
SAC hopes Nostalgia Night offers a chance for students to bond with one another over good music and fun, Farley said. Even as students wait in line with their wings, she hopes it provides a chance for people to meet one another and grow closer in community.
SAC invites students, faculty and friends to join for a night of good music and community on March 7. Tickets will be available for purchase online.
