This past Monday, April 11, as the sun set on one of the first warm days this spring, Hamilton’s Campus Activities Board (CAB) hosted artist Del Water Gap. The Events Barn was packed to the brim with eager music lovers to see the artist play.
Del Water Gap, also known as Samuel Holden Jaffe, is a 28 year-old musician who is originally from Connecticut but is now based in New York City. Jaffe began his musical career by starting Del Water Gap as a band with two other musicians at his boarding school, naming the band based on the Delaware Water Gap. After high school, the initial band broke up, and Jaffe then attended New York University’s Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music to nurture his passion of songwriting, producing and performing. At this time, he connected with Maggie Rogers, an American singer-songwriter who has a much anticipated album coming out later this summer. She eventually became bandmates with Del Water Gap. After some time, Jaffe relocated to Brooklyn and made the band into an independent project.
Since then, Del Water Gap has become a prominent name in the indie-pop music scene. He especially known for his song “Ode to a Conversation Stuck in Your Throat,” which went viral when actresses Margaret Qualley and Kaitlyn Dever had an online dance party to the song during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Del Water Gap’s rise to fame added to the allure of his concert on campus, as so many students were familiar with his music. He has just recently released his debut eponymous album, which he performed for the audience acoustically. The event was so popular that both the first and second floor of the Events Barn were filled with viewers. Sara Fischer ʼ25 spoke about this crowd, stating “He was really good, it was a lot of fun especially because so many people came!”
Jaffe was also extremely pleasant and personable. At one point during his set, he asked students to come up and “spill the campus tea” to him, which he would then share with the crowd.
Natalie Gutterman ʼ25 described Del Water Gap as quite personable. “He had great socks and shoes and was funny in a quirky indie boy way.” Even the members of CAB were pleasantly surprised by Del Water Gap’s friendliness. For example, CAB Social Media Coordinator Celia Dorsey ʼ24 found that “he was so nice after the show, he was very grateful for the opportunity to play the songs the way he originally wrote them. The show itself was a great last acoustic show, he was having fun with the audience and it felt so personal to really hear all of his lyrics.”
As previously stated, Del Water Gap’s show was the last CAB Acoustic of the semester. The next live performance will be the 2022 Class & Charter (C&C) Day Concert on May 6, 2022, which will feature Aminé, ThatKidJoina, Uptown Booty, Vandigo and Heat.
Del Water Gap was a perfect choice to end the live music of the semester as his show was welcoming, calming and engaging. Hamilton CAB was smart to book Del Water Gap when they did, as he is shortly taking some time off to go on tour in Europe as a supporting act to Girl In Red, playing everywhere from London to Moscow.
