WRMC hosted its annual “Sepomana Spring Concert” on Friday, April 19. Held in the Bunker in the Freeman International Center, the concert featured Western Massachusetts artist DJ Lucas and the New York City-based band Hotline TNT.
DJ Lucas started his set off strong, flaunting his red flannel and partly unlaced sperry boots — paying true homage to his New England roots. His meme-like lines kept everybody interested in what he was going to say next. At one point, Lucas dropped the line, “shorty got thick skin like she went through rigamortis,” which was lyrical ingenuity at its finest.
The last song he played, “The Climb,” came when the crowd felt like it had hit peak energy, with people jumping and nodding along to the comical lyrics. One of Lucas’ crew members even came into the audience and boosted the audience’s energy to close out the set perfectly.
Afterward, Hotline TNT came on stage to play part of their discography, including songs from their newest album, “Cartwheel,” which has been gaining traction since its release in November 2023. They laid out sheets of buzzy guitar sounds over simple but robust melodies, melding their shoegaze sound with a pop undertow. The audience savored their dreamy sound, which filled the space with a loud bass that made their ears vibrate and their souls shake.
Towards the end of their set, the band played a game of limbo with a glowing light rod, inviting the audience to participate. Their stage presence practically spilled out of the room with how much space and vibrant energy they took up.
June Su ’27 said he adored the band’s performance. “Hotline TNT was excellent! I actually canceled plans to go somewhere so I could stay for the whole show because I loved it so much.”
WRMC concert directors Neel Shah ’26 and Addie Shandro ’26 worked to put together the show with WRMC’s general manager, Natalie Penna ’24. Penna said this show was the product of lots of meetings in the Proctor lounge and a strong bond between the board members.
“It is very much a team effort all the time, especially this year. There are so many logistics that go into planning a concert, and those responsibilities are all shared between people,” she said.
Shah is also a huge fan of DJ Lucas, and was the one to recommend that WRMC have him perform.
“I love him, I just think he’s awesome! I mean he talks about Hannafords and I was like, ‘We have Hannafords here,’” he said.
Beyond the more comical side of his music, Shah said that he appreciates how much DJ Lucas owns his Western Massachusetts identity.
“A lot of the biggest rappers in the world are from really cool places like Atlanta or New York. And for this guy, it’s the exact same thing, true to that spirit of just repping where you’re from and being true to yourself.”
Having two completely different artists together on one stage was very unique and special.
“It’s a stage that is not going to be shared again most likely,” Shandro said.
Shah said he was worried the artists wouldn’t want to perform on the same night, but they were both excited to be playing.
“There was even a guy who came down from Burlington because he wanted to see the combo of them which was fantastic,” he said.
Penna described that the music scene at Middlebury can lean towards more folk artists like Noah Kahan. Remember the abundance of “Burlington” results on last year’s Spotify Wrapped? As a result, WRMC works to showcase and uplift the variety of diverse tastes that are present here on campus.
“Providing different spaces, musically, for people, is huge,” Penna said.
This concert tapped into a different genre from previous musical guests (last semester WRMC guests included Joseph Biss and Bodysync), DJ Lucas bringing hip-hop and Hotline TNT bringing their signature shoegaze and rock combined sound.
Of course, be on the lookout for WRMC’s final concert of the year in May. As Shah put it, “Having live music in general is so magical and fun.”
