On April 8, indie-folk artist Jake Minch took the stage at AfterHours, joined by openers Syd Howard and girlhouse. For Minch, the concert was a long time coming. 

When he saw an Instagram post by Live Music Association, or LMA, March 24, 2025, announcing an AfterHours concert lineup of Kevin Atwater, Alix Page and Christian Lee Hutson, he reposted it on his Instagram story, writing, “I can’t believe this is real and not something that a gay teenager made for fun.”

Known for his raw, honest lyrics, the 23-year-old singer-songwriter from Connecticut rose to fame by posting his songs on TikTok, gaining a similar fanbase to Atwater, Page and Hutson. In 2024, Minch was featured on Atwater’s song, “jacob killed a cat (Reimagined).” 

“I texted my manager that the fact that I wasn’t on that bill is f****d up,” Minch said in an interview with The Huntington News, laughing. “So I think a conversation was had. It’s like throwing your own party to combat the cool kids who did a party.”

Fourth-year music and communication studies combined major Kayla Anderson, the president of LMA, said that Minch’s comment on the Atwater, Page and Hutson lineup put him on the club’s radar. 

“Since that, we’ve been like, ‘We need to have him in AfterHours,’” Anderson said. “So yeah, we kind of planned a concert all around him, to be honest, and we’re really happy it worked out.”

After Howard and girlhouse performed 25‐minute sets, students were eager to see Minch perform. 

Minch walked onto the AfterHours stage a little after 8:15 p.m., setting down his paper Pavement Coffeehouse cup before beginning his set with “Nostalgia Act.” He strummed an acoustic guitar and was accompanied by two supporting musicians, Jonah Kreitner on the violin and Liam Creamer alternating between playing an acoustic guitar and a lap steel guitar. Minch’s existing discography lent itself well to AfterHours’ intimate environment, and the three performers played a stripped-back, hour-long set.

“I’ve played with Liam a lot, and I’ve played with Jonah a lot, and we haven’t combined,” Minch told The News. “Playing with them has made me feel like I’m in the right place and we’ve taken a step up.”

Minch played a dozen songs with little intermission, often playing one song directly into the next. Six of the songs he played, “Nostalgia Act,” “F****d Up,” “Drawing a Tattoo,” “For Leaving,” “Twice” and “Fingers and Clothes,” were from his 2025 debut album, “George.” 

Jenna Kim, a first-year public health major, discovered Minch’s music last year and fell in love with “George.” Kim won LMA’s giveaway for the event, receiving a Jake Minch-branded shirt, a signed poster and a “George” vinyl.

“It was so amazing. I was freaking out,” Kim said. “He was like, two feet away from me. Oh my god, it was amazing.”

Minch was soft-spoken while introducing his songs, picking the strings of his guitar or tuning while he talked, and had the audience hanging onto his every word and singing along gently to each song. 

Quinn Tom, a second-year business administration major, has been a fan of Minch’s for years after discovering him on TikTok. A musician himself, Tom said he waited in AfterHours for hours to secure his spot directly in front of the stage.

“The way he writes is so thoughtful and empathetic and reflective in a way that other singer-songwriters who write about the mundane things on the circuit don’t do as well as he does,” Tom said. “I just think he puts so much emotion in the things he talks about.”

Before closing with his most popular song, “Fingers and Clothes,” Minch played two new songs. Of all the songs in his set, Minch said he was most excited to perform those.

“Even if I wake up tomorrow and I’m like, ‘I can’t believe I did that, that was not great,’ I’m past that part now, so it’ll be fun just to see what happens,” Minch told The News.

The unreleased songs were inspired by his experiences in New York. In one anecdote, he described living in the city like “drinking water from a fire hydrant.”

“I was about to move to New York, and one of [Alix Page]’s friends and I were outside. I wasn’t smoking at the time, so I was watching him smoke and looking for something to do with my hands,” Minch said, introducing one of his new songs. “Someone was like, ‘Hey, I hate to do this, but it’s my birthday. I’m hungry, and I’m homeless.’ And I was like, ‘Ah, dude, that’s so sad.’ And then I was walking with him to the deli, and I had a friend just grab my arm and be like, ‘Welcome to New York. It’s his birthday every day.’ And so that is what this song is about.”

For his next record, Minch said he is excited to see how his moving to New York permeates his music.

“The last album, I was very much thinking that the world was gonna end, and then it didn’t end,” Minch told The News. “I’m trying to learn how to be funny. Like all new influences, hopefully with the same earnestness.”