By Isabella Darcy
Editor-in-Chief
American musical duo Between Friends is coming to the College on May 8 to perform at Funival, the College Union Board’s end-of-the-year celebratory event. Beginning at 5:45 p.m., Between Friends will play an hour-long set at Sundial Lawn.
“They’re up and coming, so this is a great opportunity to see them before they make it bigger,” said Cristina Collins, CUB’s executive director.
Known for songs like “affection” and “iloveyou,” siblings Brandon and Savannah Hudson make up the alternative/indie Between Friends. After getting their start in the spotlight on America’s Got Talent in 2013 and later briefly playing in a band, the pair formed Between Friends in 2017.
The duo has since released seven EPs, two albums and a mixtape. Their most recent drop is the August 2025 album “WOW!,” which features hits like “JAM !” and “You & Me Time.” The album, like much of the Between Friends’s discography, explores young love and heartbreak.
Brandon, 28, and Savannah, 26, were born in Miami, Florida, and grew up in Laurel Canyon, Los Angeles. Homeschooled and intrigued by music, the siblings began experimenting with sounds from a young age. They’ve since found their style in smooth, catchy electronic soundscapes.
Funival performers have historically fallen into the indie-rock and indie-pop genres. The event is named after its first headliner, fun., an indie-pop band. Recent performers include Almost Monday, Echosmith and Laundry Day.
“The performer at Funival is always so special. Being able to hear them from across the whole event and leading up to silent disco really brings students together,” said CUB STUD Chair Hailey Mastej. “Music is so powerful, so being able to bring an up and coming band to TCNJ to support them and maybe add a new song to your daily music rotation is a great feeling.”
This year, CUB is “excited” to try out new types of performers, according to Amanda Incalcaterra, CUB’s finance director. Usually a student band warms up the stage, but this year, sophomore communication studies major Carlo Nasso and junior business management major Claire Sorensen will play DJ sets. The two earned the opener spots by winning a DJ contest at the March CUB Classics event.
Nasso will go on from 4:10 - 4:40 p.m. and will be followed by Sorensen from 4:45 - 5:15 p.m. Between Friends is slated to take the stage at 5:45 p.m. Funival itself will run from 4 - 10 p.m. within LOT 12 and Sundial Lawn. Typically their highest attended event, CUB expects around 3,500 people to show up.
“This is seniors’ last event that they’ll ever have, since graduation is happening, so they should definitely come,” Collins said.
When not watching live performances, those attending can enjoy rides, games, a silent disco and food trucks.
“Come for the music and stick around for everything else,” Incalcaterra said.
Editor’s note: Cristina Collins and Amanda Incalcaterra are on The Signal’s editorial board. They were not involved in the writing or editing of this article. We are noting this for transparency.
