By Sarah Bradley
The sun was out last week, marking the start of Spring quarter at Evergreen. The warm temperature brought a bevy of students, staff, and circus performers out to red square. If you were part of the crowd soaking up the sun on Wednesday of week one, you may noticed a new addition from the typical sound of construction work and drum circles. Greener Days, a new concert series, is bringing live music to Evergreen.
Greener Days is presented by the Geoduck Student Union and KAOS. It is an initiative to bring the community together to enjoy a free, all ages concert, as well as a platform to highlight local voices and artists. The concerts will happen on Wednesdays from 1-3 pm on red square, or in the library in case of rain.
On May 30, local musician Anna Gordon performed, as well as Gabriel Mintz from Seattle. This was the second concert of the series, but the first one held outdoors. Gordon, who opened up the concert, is a local musician based in Olympia who plays guitar, sings, and writes lyrics. Gordon expressed excitement to bring back the tradition of live music at Evergreen, recalling the “Super Saturdays” of the past. “There used to be music happening all the time at Evergreen, so we are trying to bring that back,” explained Gordon. In addition to being a musician, Gordon works as the music director at KAOS.
The first Greener Days concert took place on February 10th inside the library lobby. The inaugural concert showcased musicians Naomi Wachira and Tomo Nakayama. The next concert will happen on April 20 and feature local acts Generifius and Nat Letkoff.
Alexander Butler, an elected member of the GSU, played a fundamental role in the execution of Greener Days. Butler told the Cooper Point Journal about the work that was put behind making Greener Days happen. explains, “I wanted to see more music happening on campus, and because the GSU works with community based events, we came up with Greener Days.”
The elected members of the Geoduck Student Union have been working towards making this goal a reality since Fall of 2015. After the GSU got the initiative for Greener Days approved by the S&A board, the concert series started to take shape. Greener Days receives sponsoring and support from KAOS community radio by helping to promote and present the events. Additionally, the student crew of S&A Productions provides live technical support for the performances in the concert series.
The May 30 concert incited enthusiasm among the student body for such events to continue. Evergreen student Oomung Varma was enjoying the sun and the music at the Greener Days concert. When asked for their opinion about the event, Varma said “It makes me feel very engaged with my community. We’re all here on red square, but we are focused on this one thing bringing us together.”
The full calendar of Greener Days concerts can be found online by visiting KAOS’s website or following the GSU on facebook. The final performance of the series has yet to be announced, but will take place on May 18th at red square. Those interested in learning more about Greener Days are welcome to attend the GSU’s weekly convergence which is open to the public and happens on Wednesdays from 1:15 to 3 p.m. in CAB 301.
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Editor’s Note:
The print version of the Cooper Point Journal ran an early draft of this article. The online version contains the corrections to this article.
