by Kerry Torpey on April 26, 2018
Arts & Entertainment
by Abigail Czerniecki ’19
A&E Co-Editor
As Providence College students come down from their spring concert hype, students are now reflecting and comparing Galantis’ performance to that of previous sprong concert performers.
Over the course of the last five years spring concert, Board of Programmers (BOP), has welcomed performers such as Krewella, Panic! at the Disco, The Chainsmokers, Rae Sremmurd, and most recently Galantis. Aside from Panic at the Disco and Rae Sremmurd, Krewella, The Chainsmokers, and Galantis all have something in common—their genre of music. These three groups all fall under the genre of electronic dance music, more commonly known as EDM. Magnetic Magazine describes EDM as a style that is focused as being danceable and energetic on the audience anticipates the artist’s musical “drop.”
Over the past 20 years, EDM artists and duos have become some of the most popular musicians in the world, producing several 2018 top hits such as “The Middle” by Zedd, the current number one song on Billboard’s Top 50 Electronic Songs, “Friends” by Marshmello and Anne-Marie, and “Without You” by Avicii. Not only are all of these artists dominating the EDM charts, EDM is dominating charts for U.S. top hits and global top hits.
As audiences veer away from pop and hip-hop music, the genre of EDM has even changed the way the music is performed by incorporating high quality audio and visuals. Artists like Galantis, The Chainsmokers, and Krewella have been successful in the EDM genre because they are accessible to the masses, maintaining strong followers where as hip-hop or pop is not.
EDM groups appeal to larger audiences because of their rhythmic core and their ability to produce beats and “drops.” The songs’ danceability compels the audience to get up and move their bodies, despite their abstract nature.
When attending concerts, groups like Panic! at the Disco and Rae Sremmurd are only enjoyable when a concertgoer knows the lyrics. EDM groups attract a larger group because it is mostly musical beats rather than full lyrics. Emma Buckley ’19, who attended the concert last Friday, explained, “You don’t necessarily need to know Galantis’ music to enjoy their concert.” Buckley also mentioned that she did not have as much fun at last year’s Rae Sremmurd concert because she did not know most of the duo’s songs. Jerod Magazine ’19 made similar comments, saying, “EDM offers that ‘feel good’ feeling. You don’t need to know the words to the songs to have a good time.”
Galantis was well received by PC students, and BOP Entertainment Committee Chair Ryan McSweeney ’18 understood that the campus needed a break from rap artists such as Lil’ Uzi Vert and Rae Sremmurd. McSweeney explained that the BOP entertainment committee “really wanted to pick an artist from a genre that everyone could enjoy. Galantis has such fun music with easy to remember lyrics and it’s impossible not to dance to. We wanted as many PC students to come and just have a fun positive time together as possible.” McSweeney himself is describing just what EDM music is—good feeling music that makes people want to dance and have fun. This year’s spring concert was certainly well received by PC students.