by The Cowl Editor on January 24, 2019
Arts & Entertainment
The emerging, young singer-songwriter Chelsea Cutler took the Peterson Recreation Center stage on Friday, January 18, performing her new hit songs to eager Providence College students. The event was sponsored by the Board of Programmers (BOP), who had been preparing for the concert since the end of the fall semester.
Twenty-one-year-old Cutler has nearly five million monthly listeners on Spotify. Her career began four years ago via SoundCloud. Cutler uploaded different covers onto SoundCloud, which eventually led to her gaining a lot of support and recognition for her music.
Many students at PC can relate to Cutler, as not too long ago, she was a student at Amherst College, which is only two hours away from PC. Not only was Cutler a student at Amherst, but also a soccer player. However, her musical fame began to rise, so she decided to leave college and athletics behind in order to pursue music full time.
Before the concert began, president of BOP, Michael Splann ’19, opened up for Cutler as DJ Mikey Nice. He was able to set the stage by playing classic pop music, getting PC students ready for the main event.
Cutler took the stage at 9 p.m., and she played for about an hour. Her performance consisted of few visuals, as Cutler stood at center stage throughout the entire performance, and the crowd focused on the music she was playing. She came skipping onto the stage wearing a Providence basketball jersey, allowing her to fit in as another PC student.
Cutler performed some of her top singles including, “The Reason” and “Your Shirt,” which seemed to be crowd favorites. Many of the other songs she performed were more under-the-radar, including “AF1s” and “You Make Me.” Many of Cutler’s lyrics expose the hardships she has gone through after getting over a tough break-up from a two-year-long relationship.
A few students were disappointed that Cutler did not play one of her more popular hits, “Flare Guns,” where she is featured with pop sensation Quinn XCII. Elizabeth Connor ’20 stated that this was her “favorite song of Cutler’s” and that she had been “waiting all night for her to play it.” Nonetheless, Connor enjoyed Cutler’s “music and the overall vibes of the night.”
Throughout the set, Cutler stayed at center stage, either playing her guitar or her electronic keyboard. At one point, she brought out her electric guitar, showing off her versatility as an artist.
Cutler’s talent did not go unnoticed, as students raved about her short performance. Although she was only on stage for an hour, Cutler successfully created dancing and excitement in the PC crowd. Cutler will embark on a music tour throughout Europe, starting in Stockholm, on Jan. 26. Her other stops include venues in Copenhagen, Berlin, Amsterdam, Paris, and London. Cutler’s extensive world tour leaves little doubt that her career will continue to skyrocket.