Local band Ike Houston performed at The Rise in Provo, giving members of the community a positive weekend experience.
BYU students Ike Houston and Noah Dansie are both members of the band: Ike Houston.
“Students want stuff to do,” Houston said backstage before the performance. “Show people a good time with a local concert, and they don’t have to dish out a hundred dollars to go see a popular band.”
The band actively engaged with the audience. At one point they even threw free t-shirts into the crowd.
“They had a really good performance,” Rich Andelin, owner of The Rise venue said.
Venues such as The Rise offer a physical location to not only enjoy live music, but to meet new people.
“It’s a great experience for those in the audience to come out and connect with people,” Nate Gagon, founder of The Rise, said. “It’s a lot more fulfilling than staying at home and playing video games or being on your phone.”
There is something a little more memorable about going to a concert venue than staying at home.
“I met some cool people,” Jordan Sitterud, recent BYU graduate and concert attendee said. “You definitely make more of an impression meeting someone in person for the first time rather than on a dating app or on social media.”
Being able to go to a physical location and share an experience with strangers can help develop a greater sense of community. However, Provo only has two concert venues, despite being home to 34,000 college students.
“Concerts have been really important to me and my college experience,” Sitterud said. “My freshmen year they had the Rooftop concert series, which made me feel a part of the community and exposed me to Provo.”
The Rooftop concert series stopped because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to Andelin, The Rise has plans to hold events Tuesdays through Saturdays, with dances happening on Wednesdays.