The Night Owl Cafe in the L.P. Young Student Center rocked out with Punk Prom, an anti-Valentines Day-themed event on Friday, Feb. 23.
Nearly 40 members of the KSC community attended the event, which featured live performances by the pop-punk band Negative 25, DJ services from WKNH radio, as well as free food and beverages. The event lasted from 7 to 8 p.m.
First-year Rory Rivera attended the event and enjoyed the band.
“This was my first time hearing Negative 25, and I’m absolutely going to look up their music now. I really liked the song Are We Having Fun Yet, and I hope they continue making amazing music,” said Rivera.
Junior Donta Selden also attended the event and said, “I have friends in the Social Activities Council who told me about the event, and I had a good time. The music was really nice, and I appreciated that earplugs were available in case things felt too loud. The Kesha cover was awesome.”
Negative 25, a Tennessee-based punk band, provided the main entertainment for the evening. The band’s hour-long set featured a mixture of original music, as well as punk rock variations of songs by artists such as Blink 182, Taylor Swift and Olivia Rodrigo.
The Negative 25 brother-duo Bradley Anderson and Brett Anderson said they grew up making music together and formed the band in 2020.
“Music has always been a part of our lives. For a long time we were a folk duo, and played a lot of shows at colleges. In 2020 we started asking ourselves if we really wanted to keep doing folk music. We thought about the kind of music we wanted to make, rather than just what we grew up with. We were always really drawn to rock music and emo music,” said Bradley Anderson.
Brett Anderson said self-acceptance is at the front of Negative 25’s musical message. “We try to say that it’s okay to be yourself. It’s okay to know that you’re not complete, but also important to know that you’re still enough. A lot of people deal with these feelings of insecurity, depression, not being enough and so on. Talking about it makes it easier to understand ourselves and each other. That’s important to acknowledge,” he said.
Ethan Harp performed on drums with the band. Negative 25 doesn’t have a specific drummer, and often invites different drummers to play at different events.
Negative 25 will be releasing new original music throughout the year.
Punk Prom was organized by the Social Activities Council, a student organization that arranges events at KSC. Weekend Events Coordinator Abby Hanson said Punk Prom is an annual anti-Valentines day event, but the Student Activities Council organizes campus events year-round.
“We plan between five or six events per semester. We have weekly meetings where we talk about events we want to make happen, and committee meetings where we hear what people want to see. We’re working on a DIY night in March, a paint night in March, and loads of other fun things coming down the pipeline this Spring,” Hanson said.
WKNH Radio, the student-radio station at KSC, provided DJ services for Punk Prom before and after Negative 25’s set. WKNH Event Coordinator Ryan Stone said the station provides DJ services for many of KSC’s musical events.
“We do these kinds of events a few times per semester. It’s a lot of fun. Last semester was a little different, since not as many events took place. I think it’s very important that people get the experience to enjoy music on campus, especially when it’s free,” said Stone.
Ryan Pacheco can be contacted at
rpacheco@kscequinox.com
