The highly anticipated Common Cents Fest, held in Centennial Common on the evening of Sept. 17, was a thrilling celebration of diversity and dance, serving as a powerful start to the 2023-24 academic year.
Headlined by the ultra-confident rap persona CupcakKe alongside local indie rock bands Vi and Ski Club, the Live Music Association, or LMA, and the Resident Student Association wanted to “do a genre shift this year,” said Joshua Antony, a fourth-year health science major and president of LMA.
“We wanted to appeal to a more rap audience because we know that’s also really popular,” Antony said.
When describing the process of selecting a headliner, third-year political science and human services combined major and vice president of events of LMA Claire Molinich said, “[they] always try to highlight queer artists and artists of color and [CupcakKe’s] both and she’s perfect.”
The concert opened with student artist Tanvi Das of Vi delivering her melodic musical compositions under soft purple stage lights as the sun set behind the campus buildings. Her powerful lyrics and punky guitar solos lured students out of the residence halls like a siren song. She opened with “Therapy Needs a Working Title,” an original dedicated to those with immigrant parents, appealing to a large community at Northeastern. The combination of her angelic voice and guitar power chords wooed the audience as she transitioned from one song to another, with “RORY” being a fan favorite. By the end of her set, she had all the picnickers on their feet cheering her on.
After a hasty set change, Boston’s beloved “trad-jazz post-punk Americana new wave psychedelic funky junky jam band” Ski Club burst onto the stage. Molinich raved about the two-year-old Berklee College of Music ensemble saying they have “insane stage presence but they are also such sweetie pies.”
Before taking the stage, Ski Club “could not [have been] more stoked” to perform at Northeastern with CupcakKe, said drummer Zach Feinstein. They couldn’t wait to play their “crazy music for crazy people,” said singer and guitarist Abigail Zachko.
They promptly got the growing crowd to mosh to the songs from their first EP “Downhill Daisy,” which is composed of heavy bass, detailed drum lines and impressive guitar licks. The student musicians were masters of their instruments, stomping across the stage to the beat and switching instruments partway through, proving they can do it all. Their contagious performance took over all those in the crowd, with students singing and bobbing their heads to the captivating music. Bassist and guitarist Evan Cieplik’s stage presence drove the crowd’s energy to the sky with an (almost) Kurt Cobain-esque guitar smash to close out the final song. Ski Club’s set was a great success and left the crowd pumped up for the next act.
After a short intermission, the headlining Chicago rapper strutted out to the center of the stage with only her microphone, fabulous costume and empowering attitude. The moment the beat of the first song dropped, the entire Common was jumping up and down screaming CupcakKe’s lyrics word for word. Her viral hits “Deepthroat,” “CPR” and “Vagina” got students dancing on the stage with her as the heavy bass rattled the ground.
“CupcakKe was our top choice, so this is a crazy way for us to kick off our senior year,” Antony said minutes before the rapper hit the stage with her unapologetic lyrics.
It was definitely unexpected for LMA to invite an artist like CupcakKe to perform at what was once an indie rock music festival, but the incredible energy radiating from the crowd proved the proposal a great success, bringing everyone closer together.
Leaving the crowd with the words “Stay safe, slay hard” at the end of her set, CupcakKe sent the Huskies back to their residence halls rapping her catchy lyrics under their breaths until they fell asleep.
Common Cents Fest was a major success this year, pumping students up for their fall semester at Northeastern — and students cannot wait to see what LMA has in store for next year.
“It was good music for everyone to enjoy and get hype, which was exciting,” said first-year international affairs and international business major Aishani Raju, a member of the crowd Sunday night. “It was a good way for people to have a little bit more fun before classes started the next day.”
