It’s the first Friday of the semester. The air is tragically hot and smells like First-Years who haven’t quite learned about the importance of deodorant. You guessed it, it’s Crimson Jam.
Each year, the Harvard College Events Board (HCEB) organizes a welcome back concert for undergraduate students within the first few weeks back to school. This year, the announcement of the performers came just three days before the event. TAlthough to much of our chagrin, neither Drake nor Ice Spice visited Harvard Yard that fine Friday evening, —but we might have just had the next best thing: Nicky Youre.
According to my Google search, which I immediately had to do after seeing his name, Nicky Youre is a one-Tik-Tok-hit-Tik-Tok-wonder known for his 2021 single “Sunroof.” HCEB also announced the three student performance groups opening for the semi-famed artist including Wesley Wang, STRYKE 9, and Yard Bops.
In addition to the music, Crimson Jam offered dinner, a photo-booth, and a fairly confusing kiddie train that made loops around the Yard. The choice for cuisine was Mediterranean (pita, falafel, hummus, etc.). And lucky for those that were unaware it was Mediterranean food and forgot to pop some Imodium beforehand, the line of porta potties was just a few feet away from the buffet.
The jamming kicked off with sophomore singer/song-writer Wesley Wang. Wang opened with the cult-classic Grouplove’s “Tongue Tied,” followed by other fan-favorites. When asked about how he chose his setlist, Wang said to the Harvard Independent, “I always wanted to do an original…and I love classic punk-rock.” Wang’s original is called “Runaway,” which has around 70,000 plays on Spotify. His songs were well selected to get the better portion of the students jumping early on in the night.
The next student performance was the punk rock band STRYK9, with five original songs and three covers. “Songwriting and playing our own original songs is really important to us, but we usually throw in a few popular covers for fun,” STRYK9 told the Harvard Independent. This performance was my personal favorite as they showcased my favorite genre of music, 90’s-2000’s punk rock. The growing crowd waswho were especially throwing their heads back and forth to the band’s cover of “You Really Got Me” by The Kinks.
The last, but arguably most popular student performance of the night was the Yard Bops. They jumped right into it with Guns N’ Roses’ “Sweet Child O’ Mine,” (or that song from the car scene in the movie Step Brothers). The vocals were uniquely accompanied by some more funky band instruments, including a trumpet and saxophone. Their instrumental expertise especially shone during the band’s Golden Buzzer-worthy performance of Earth, Wind & Fire’s “September,” showcasing remarkable talent from all members of the group.
As the sky grew darker, the Yard became more crowded. Some hit songs played from the speakers between the opening acts and the upcoming Nicky Youre, creating a perfect opportunity for new freshman couples to showcase both their dancing and PDA. There’s something special about a boy putting his hand on a girl’s lower back, her shirt reading the numbers 2027, andwith Lil Uzi Vert’s “Just Wanna Rock” on full blast. Crimson Jam, the perfect romantic first date.
TFinally, the stage was finally surrounded by students, just in time for Nicky Youre to pop out. Youre started out with some catchy originals and got the crowd fired up when he switched shirts with one of the students in the front row, putting on a pretty cool looking Harvard jersey. At one point, he complained that the jersey was too “wet” and asked the audience whether he should take it off or not. I was unsure if I was watching a Crimson Jam performance or Magic Mike. But, I did, however, think that thought he had a good sense of humor and was able to get the audience more engaged, a crucial aspect of being a great performer.
Some of Youre’s originals included “Eyes On You” and “Sex and Lemonade.” Youre also covered some crowd favorites including “Everybody Talks” by Neon Trees and an “Ice Ice Baby”/ “Tongue Tied” mash up. Youre continued to blue ball the audience as he waited to play the most anticipated song until the endlast. When the moment finally came, the crowd delivered. All the students had their Snapchat cameras open ready to get the perfect clip of “Sunroof,” as it would be the only song their Snapchat story viewers would recognize. It was worth it in the end though.
It seems that Crimson Jam 2023 was a success and that most people had a great time. The student performers were all spectacular and Nicky Youre put on an entertaining show. DBut, don’t feel too bad if you couldn’t make it. There’s always next year (if you’re not a senior). And if you get there early enough, you can even ride the mini train!
Ilana Feder ’26 (ilanafeder@college.harvard.edu) writes Arts for the Independent