By Danica Ward
Staff Writer
The College’s CUB Alt put on its first show of the spring semester on Feb. 5.
From 7-9 p.m. in Brower Student Center, students were able to travel back in time and rock out. The room was transformed into an 80s fever dream, with a decorated throwback stage, glow sticks, concert posters and inflatable guitars to match.
CUB Alt booked two local bands to perform: Fire N Ice and The Bellas. Both bands were dressed in the infamous hair metal looks of the time period and rocked the stage with their attitude and appeal.
Artists from Jon Bon Jovi to Van Halen and Motley Crüe were covered over the course of the night, with both bands also introducing some of their originals to the small but mighty crowd. Overall, event attendees were seen nodding their heads and tapping their feet to the beat.
Julia Fonti, a senior communications major, works as the event programming organization's executive event coordinator, and gave insight on how all of their themed shows came to be.
“We find artists through word of mouth, TikTok, Instagram, Spotify and by looking at past lineups from nearby venues,” Fonti said. “We primarily focus on talent in the tri-state area.”
She also noted, “It feels meaningful to support artists from nearby communities. Being able to introduce and market underground musicians to a college audience is one of the most rewarding parts of the project.”
Fonti took on quite the daunting task of recruiting bands to perform at CUB Alt shows when she accepted her position. But to her, it is a “fun challenge” to research bands that may perform niche genres of music.
By reaching out to groups and figuring out the aspects from availability to budget, Fonti is able to negotiate contracts and book the bands that students of the College get to see perform throughout the course of the year.
A completely student-led organization, CUB Alt plans shows months in advance. While research and artist prep starts around two months in advance, the board also preps their merchandise and publicization strategies weeks before.
In addition to the stickers, keychains and posters that the organization had for students to take during the show, both The Bellas and Fire N Ice brought their own posters and clothing to sell to concert attendees, and even stayed after the show to sign autographs for those lucky enough.
CUB Alt Chair Brooke Stollsteimer, a senior communications major, said that her favorite part of the organization’s events is seeing participants who don't usually attend other CUB events.
“I feel that CUB Alt provides experiences for niche groups on campus, and with our Alt shows, we try to provide opportunities for students to listen to music that might not have been brought to campus yet,” she said.
With that, the organization’s event calendar is posted on its Instagram page @tcnjcub, so anyone can check out what to look forward to for the rest of the semester. Some shows coming up include a soul music night, 2000s singer/songwriter and a pop punk show.
