On Friday, Nov. 6, nine girls took over the Pause Mane Stage for the Agnes A Cappella Fall Concert. This year’s title for the annual fall concert was “Back to #Basic.” The singing of Beyonce and Michael Jackson by girls wearing shades of burgundy and boots was hardly unexpected.
Also to be expected, the Pause was packed, with spectators trickling in throughout the performance. The chairs quickly filled up, with students standing and perching around the edges of the space.
The concert opened a few minutes late with an upbeat rendition of “Pretty Hurts” by Beyoncé. During the first half of the performance the group did some meaningful songs, including another Beyoncé song “Irreplaceable,” while the onstage dancing and energy of the performers provided a fun atmosphere.
Following an almost unrecognizable version of “Your Song,” was an entertaining interlude that comprised of a video of the members of the group set to “Run the World (Girls),” of course. During the second half of the act, the audience was excited and ready for the slew of upbeat songs and mash-ups.
During a break from dancing, Toluwalope Toluhi ‘18 said, “I really like what they are doing, what they are singing, the mash-ups, the dancing; it’s really great!”
He was not the only one busting a move. There were several people standing and moving around to the beat provided by Harrison Hintzsche ‘16. Some students that were able to sit down were even enthusiastically chair dancing.
The high point of the night was the cover of Michael Jackson’s “P.Y.T.” featuring Alex Knutson ‘17 as the soloist. After that crowd favorite, the performance ended with the second mash-up of the night: “Drag Me Down” by One Direction with “I Knew You Were Trouble” by Taylor Swift. The first mash-up was “Gold Digger” by Kanye West with Taylor Swift’s “Blank Space,” proving that T-Swift makes everything better.
While the performance could not be described as technically perfect, it was a victorious return to the stage for a group that lost half of its members due to graduation last spring.
“We have come a long way, this group of people has only been practicing together since August,” Annie Weinheimer ‘16 said
Agnes clearly has bonded together well as a group. “It was my first time performing with the group and I can easily say that it was one of the best music filled moments I have had here at St. Olaf,” new member Alee Danyluk ‘18 said.
The onstage chemistry of the group, the mood of the audience, and the amount of Beyonce made for an incredibly fun night. The “Back To #Basic” concert was a great way to end the week and an even better kick-off to the weekend.
You can catch the group again for their Winter Concert on reading day. Updates are published on Agnes A Capella’s Facebook and Instagram pages.
barkle1@stolaf.edu
