A soft glow lit the stage as gentle piano keys rang through an energized crowd.
“One, two, three, four” cued the beams that lit up four performers leading the 18-member ensemble “That One Big Band.” They launched into “Best of My Love” by the Emotions as the opening to a night built on throwbacks and surprising talent.
At 8 p.m. on March 7, 2026, Rediger Auditorium transported students into a retro world before the first chorus hit.
This year’s Nostalgia Night highlighted its arcade theme with Pac-Man-, Donkey Kong-, Tetris- and Mario-inspired decorations lining the walls, stairs and balconies.
Gaby Valdez, a junior vocal performance major, Hannah Wylie, a senior English and theatre education major, Lisa Pinsenschaum, a sophomore musical theatre and journalism double major, and Olivia Repass, a junior marketing management major took center stage in 1970s attire, starting the evening with layered harmonies, choreography and upbeat energy.
Planning for “That One Big Band” began nearly a year ago, Denzel Widjaja, a senior mechanical engineering major, said. Widjaja focused on logistics and Lua Bleah, a junior piano performance major, handled the musical arrangements. Bleah composed four vocal parts, three horn parts, four string parts, one guitar part and his own piano part.
The night was a time capsule to the past, introducing people to music he loves that is not well-known, Widjaja said.
The Student Activities Council, who plans the event, hoped Nostalgia Night would showcase student talent while creating a show that appeals to a wide variety of students on campus.
“We love giving the students an opportunity to showcase their talent and them working so hard for something and then having it all come together in one show,” Damaris Hernandez, a sophomore exercise science and sports major, and member of SAC, said. “The outcome is always crazy.”
A group that took SAC by surprise was “Creep” by Radiohead.
This is one of Radiohead’s most popular songs, Milo Guevara, a sophomore musical theatre major and the lead singer for “Creep,” said. The genre and tone are not often featured at Taylor’s Nostalgia Night.
“The chorus chills out at the end and then there’s the last verse,” Guevara said, “but we decided we were gonna make it a crazy last chorus, and sing the whole thing up the octave. It was just a really, really cool moment to kind of surprise the crowd in that way. That was one of the ways that we really tried to make the song our own while still it being ‘Creep.’”
The variety carried into each performance of the night with other songs like, “It Ain’t Me Babe,” “You’re still the One,” “Sparks,” “I Want It That Way,” “Brand New Man,” “My Hero,” “The Scientist,” “Boulevard of Broken Dreams,” and “Super Trooper.”
Three acts into the night, a bench with a blanket over it, teddy bears, plushies and pajamas decorated the stage as an 11-member girl band sang “Holding Out for a Hero.”
Adopting a jazz twist, Alexandra Rollins, a freshman music major, Elaina Crammer, a freshman worship arts major and Holland Susud, a freshman music education major, led the song, bringing the audience into their 1980s sleepover. The band, dressed in concert black and fishnets, played a figment of the singer’s imagination in their make-believe dream sequence.
“Their voices are just really complementary, and they’re confident, and the sound is just very full because the band is also doing their job, and it sounds really good,” Hernandez said.
“Crazy Train” closed the concert with Ethan Kleinman, a graduate student from Taylor, at the mic, backed by four band members. The five-member group flooded the stage with high-energy rock sounds, a sharp contrast to the softer performances of the evening.
Kleinman’s band decided to embrace contrast themselves as the boy band performed in overalls and conductor hats, alluding to the little train boys from their childhood.
“Even with all the differences that we have in music taste and talent,” Guevara said, “it’s like we can all still come together and really, really enjoy some people’s favorite songs. And I recognize that I didn’t know every song everyone sang. Not everyone will know the one I did, but I think it’s awesome that way to find new music of what other people at Taylor are into.”
Beyond costumes and crowd reactions, Nostalgia Night is about sharing the music that has shaped the entertainers and their communities, performers said.
As the final notes faded and the crowd dispersed, Nostalgia Night proved a celebration of memory, creativity and the diverse talent of Taylor’s campus community.
“I just want people to enjoy the music that I enjoyed growing up and I just want to share my passion with music and ultimately make good art that glorifies God,” Widjaja said. “...For me, as a musician, the best way to glorify God is just straight up making good music.”
