Beta Upsilon Chi (BYX) hosted Island Party, a free community concert event, Friday to benefit The Bridge Ministries, a local Christian community service outreach organization.
As students gathered at Wolf Pen Creek Amphitheater Friday night, “John Marc Kohl,” “The Pass,” “The Wrecks” and “The Mowglis” set up the stage and prepared for an Aggie audience.
Walker Sinclair, industrial distribution senior and co-executive director of Island Party, said the goals of the event were to improve from previous years and to bring diverse genres to College Station.
“This year one of our main goals was to bring a genre of music to College Station that we don’t usually see in our community so we went with more Indie Pop bands and Indie Rock bands,” Sinclair said. “[We had] ‘The Wrecks,’ ‘The Mowglis’ and ‘The Pass’ but also showcased our local band, ‘John Marc Music.’”
Sinclair said while the event brought music to the community, Island Party also showcased a local ministry service called The Bridge Ministries.
“All of the proceeds of the event go to The Bridge Ministries, which is a local ministry in Bryan, and that was really mainly the main goal of this event was to provide not only a spotlight for them to be recognized in the community, but also provide monetary funds for them and I think it went really well,” Sinclair said.
By 8 p.m., more than 1,800 people had showed up to the event, and by the time the headliner, The Mowgli’s, came on, there were more than 2,000 people in attendance, Sinclair said.
The Wrecks played before the Mowgli’s the Island Party was the vibe of College Station and the hospitality they received.
“Everyone has been really nice though like the whole time and it’s beautiful out there. There’s food trucks and it’s just so cool and we’re really glad we were invited to come play this year,” said Nick Anderson, the lead singer for The Wrecks.
Anderson said most of his writing stems from challenges he faces in life.
“When I go to write it’s because I’m dealing with something, I’m going through something, and that usually is the easiest way for me to write because it just feels like it’s coming from a good place, it’s coming from a vulnerable place. So that’s usually where I like to start lyrically and everything like that,” Anderson said. “Guitar-wise, it’s just Schmitz — he just does his thing and we go back and forth and write some cool riffs and yeah.”
Grant Hruzek, computer science junior who attended Island Party said events like these are needed as outlets to allow the community to come together.
“It brings the community together, it brings people closer, it inspires people,” Hruzek said.