by Natasha Lane ’21, Staff Writer
Sara Jadbabaie ’21 gave an on-campus acoustic concert in Opus 1 on Thursday, Mar. 7 at 7:30 PM.
I hadn’t planned on staying for long, but with the promise of free Opus cookies and the stampede of students beginning to pile themselves excitedly into the plush Opus 1 couches, I was intrigued and stayed.
All of the couches at Opus 1 had been pushed to face the front of the room and were packed with audience members listening intently as she began her set. Finally, Jadbabaie walked out with her guitar and started playing “Work Song” by Hozier. In that moment, I forgot about the cookies altogether.
This acoustic concert was Jadbabaie’s first solo performance on campus, although you wouldn’t have known by her confident performance and engagement with the crowd. Jadbabaie has had her fair share of experiences in front of crowds as a member of the a capella group Special K and a guitarist for on-campus band Yonic Youth. Thursday night, however, was a bit different.
“Performing music is such a transaction of feelings, and solo performances can be scary,” she said, “you really have to be vulnerable and that’s hard.”
During her performance, Jadbabaie played a few covers before surprising the audience with some originals. These songs reflected the calm, acoustic sound
of music she has covered before. The audience sunk into their chairs as she sang “Barefoot Cooking in the Kitchen,” the first song Jadbabaie ever wrote. She played a few more originals — a crowd favorite being one of her older songs titled “Swimming Pools” — while mixing in more covers of artists like Tame Impala and Gregory Alan Isakov.
Jadbabaie introduced each song with a short speech or personal anecdote
describing why it was important to her, which made the event feel even more special. She positively recounted her experience with music and performance on campus.
“Hearing my peers in Special K/Yonic play is just really humbling, there is so much talent on this campus,” she said, “It’s just really inspirational to see so many people involved in music. It just makes me want to keep playing
and singing!”
Her excitement and passion for music and the love for her
peers are palpable when she says, “Those women are some of my closest friends on campus and knowing that they love me unconditionally makes it easier to put myself out there and explore my solo music.”
Jadbabaie said she was inspired to start focusing on her own music more seriously when she came to Hamilton and saw so many students pursuing their own musical interests and projects.
Jadbabaie’s concert was a great way to take some time to relax, be with friends, eat some cookies, and listen to good music.
