This coming Friday, Sept. 24, Campus Activities Board (CAB) will host Hamilton’s first major in-person concert since the COVID-19 pandemic. This comes after the success of last year’s virtual Class and Charter Day (C&C) music festival, which featured Quinn XCII, Remi Wolf, Maude Latour, Junglepussy and Loud Luxury. This Friday’s concert, titled “Ham Jam” will feature British EDM duo Snakehips and Canadian rapper Tommy Genesis.
The headliner, Snakehips, consists of members Oliver Lee and James Carter. The duo is from London but met and formed their connection in a Hong Kong sake bar. They chatted and hit it off right away, making loose plans to meet up again before they flew back. They never met up again in Hong Kong, but instead ran into each other back home in London by chance, and bonded once more over their mutual love of music. Then and there, they decided to collaborate and thus Snakehips was born in 2010.
Since then, the group has been producing EDM-style music, but the song that undoubtedly kick-started their career was their 2015 song “All My Friends,” featuring American rapper Chance the Rapper and American singer Tinashe. This song put Snakehips on many musicians’ radars, and the group has since collaborated with many talented stars including English singer Zayn Malik on their song “Cruel,” Danish singer MØ on “Don’t Leave” and American rapper Anderson.Paak on “Money on Me.” The duo also remixes other musicians’ hit songs by adding their own spin on them. The pair are known for their lively sets that match their high-energy music.
Tommy Genesis will open for Snakehips on Friday night. The Canadian native is known for her rapping, modeling and visual art. Tommy’s music teeters between rap and R&B/pop. Her sound is new and her lyrics are courageous and uncensored. In 2016, Dazed magazine even crowned Tommy “the internet’s most rebellious underground rap queen” for her risky, provocative music. No matter what, her performance will be unlike any other Hamilton has seen.
In the past, the Fall Concert has historically featured hip hop or rap music, while the Spring Concert/C&C Day Concert has featured EDM or pop music. However, this year, CAB decided to make a change. CAB members Olivia Otsuka ’24 and Jonah Bauer ’22 stated that one reason they chose Snakehips and Tommy Genesis this year is because they found that the campus is more fond of EDM shows, and “in recent years, [their] survey polls have demonstrated heightened interest in Pop/EDM/Alternative artists.” The CAB members also shared a very simple goal they made for themselves in throwing this concert: “We wanted to create an atmosphere where students could gather with their friends and dance enough to make up for two years of being inside.”
The CAB team has also created limited-edition merchandise for the special event, including an illustrated snake fanny pack and matching stickers. These exclusive items are only available to the first 150 people in line for Ham Jam. Several CAB members have expressed that they are so excited to host performers in person and bring concerts back to normal.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m., and Ham Jam will be hosted outdoors at the Old Tennis Courts. While the concert is free, students must bring their Hill Cards for admission.