WELCOME BACK WEEK CONCERT WITH CHRISETTE MICHELLE
By Byhira Thorn
The University of the District of Columbia’s Welcome Back Week ended strong with a free concert in the school’s gymnasium on Friday, September 13th.. The back to school concert complimented the Welcome Back Week theme of celebrating the 25th anniversary of the movie, School Daze, with Chrisette Michele and DJ Babey Drew as the headliners, and openers Melissa Israel, GinaRose, and Odiseas. The show also featured E.U. Band with Sugar Bear playing that funky go-go music.
The evening started off slow while people were arriving, but the energy quickly picked up: thanks to Dj Babey Drew who hyped the crowd with the hottest current music. The first performance of the night was UDC student Melissa Israel, who wooed the audience with her sultry sound. Israel was followed by Odiseas, who was recently signed to a professional recording contract and sang all original material. Later, GinaRose, a DC native with impressive vocal skills, covered Jill Scott’s “The Way”. Both artists got the crowd engaged and impressed the audience with their talent and stage presence. Freshman Daryl Sahguihetti expressed, “They were really awesome and professional!” Bryan Richardson, a Virginia University Alumni and UDC concert attendee, gave praises saying, “(GinaRose) was really talented and will go far.”
The night then continued with Grammy award winner, Chrisette Michele. Michele performed five songs including her #1 hit “Epiphany”, and her newest single, “Love Won’t Leave Me Out”, off of her latest album “Better”. Ken Waters a supporter for Chrisette Michele’s promoter, Alex Morgan, was “glad (Michele) came out to perform for UDC and support a historical black college.” In an impromptu duet, Michele brought UDC student, Melissa Israel, back on stage for a song. The two, who had just met backstage, sang “Total Praise” (a classic gospel song), and wowed the audience with their harmony.
Closing out the night, SugarBear and the EU Band, got the crowd going wild with their 1988 hit, “Da Butt”. In spite of the generation gap, the gym floor erupted with dancing and singing from spectators who enjoyed the performance. The night ended in a full blown party with Dj Babey Drew wearing the turntables out. Freshman Toshin Williams said, “DJ Babey Drew got me hype. The event was poppin’ !'”
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