While our current students gear up for this year’s Spring Concert, our employees reflect on past performances.
by the Office of Communications and Media Relations
March 21, 2023
The Spring Concert attracts students of all class years.
Get ready, Skyhawks! The Gravy Train is rolling onto campus!
Rapper and social media sensation Matthew Raymond Hauri, known to most as “Yung Gravy,” will perform at this year’s Spring Concert, scheduled to take place on Thursday, March 30, in the Sally Blair Ames Sports Complex. Known for combining modern hip hop with nostalgic funk and soul, the artist is sure to delight students of all class years.
Amid preparations for this year’s show, we recently took a stroll down memory lane to remember performers from years past. Here are just a few of the major stars who have taken the stage at Stonehill.
Aerosmith's Steven Tyler at Stonehill in 1973.
Famous Footwear
A snazzy pair of boots previously owned by Tyler.
Writer Julian Gill’s 2021 book Aerosmith – On Tour 1973-85 includes a brief mention of an on-campus performance by Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, Tom Hamilton, Joey Kramer and Brad Whitford in November 1973, less than a year out from the release of their self-titled debut album.
Almost four decades after Aerosmith played on campus, the College added Tyler’s footwear to its archives in 2012 when the Brockton Historical Society transferred the city’s Shoe Museum collection to Stonehill’s care. The repository also includes shoes donated by other stars with Boston ties, including Jay Leno, Bill Pullman and John Ratzenberger, among others.
I Want My MTV (Video Star)
The Sports Complex, where the Spring Concert is usually held, originally opened in January 1989. Meat Loaf, who passed away in 2022, was the first performer to christen the building on April 30, 1989.
“He was a rock legend, even if he only had a few hit songs,” said Peter Langton ’90, adjunct professor of management. “He was an original MTV Video Star, so having him on campus was pretty cool. He sounded as good in person as he did on his recordings. It was quite the first concert to have in our new space.”
A Wonderful Kind of Day
Most millennials know Ziggy Marley as the artist who sang the theme song for Arthur, the animated series that aired for over 20 years on PBS, but Jennifer (Moura) Silva ’93 and Dean O’Keefe ’94, who both served on the SGA Programming Committee, remember him for a different reason. When he performed at Stonehill on April 25, 1992, the pair got to hang out with the musician for a while.
“Dean and I, as well as other members of the committee, played a pick-up game of basketball against Ziggy and his band in the Sports Complex fieldhouse prior to the concert,” Silva recalls.
To paraphrase a lyric from Arthur’s opening number, it was, indeed, a wonderful kind of day.
A Long Quest to Easton
When she was a sophomore, Lisa Richards ’99 was excited to see A Tribe Called Quest perform at the College in 1997. The anticipation that she and her classmates felt almost became too much to bear as the hip hop group’s arrival to campus was delayed for quite a long time.
“De La Soul was the opening act, and they played for an extended time because the headliners were late,” she said. “I think they told us they had trouble with their bus.”
Despite the hold-up, Richards and her friends ended up enjoying the show, as well as other performances they attended as students.
Kayla (O’Malley) Satchell ’07 with Maroon 5 on the night of their Stonehill performance in 2004.
Close Encounters of the Famous Kind
These days, the band Maroon 5 is considered a global sensation, but when they performed at Stonehill back in 2004, their star was still on the rise.
“They had just had their first big hit but had not yet fully established themselves,” recalls Pauline Dobrowski, vice president for student affairs.
As such, the administrator did not have a strong reaction when they were on campus.
“The Director of Student Activities at the time asked me if I wanted to personally meet the band,” she said. “I said no. Little did I know that they would become who they are today. I kick myself for passing up the opportunity to personally meet and speak with Adam Levine!”
Though Dobrowski didn’t get to chat with the “Sunday Morning” singer, Mallory (Cole) Aronstein ’07 was able to. The adjunct professor of political science was a student when Maroon 5 played at Stonehill.
“My friend Nikki and I waited by the tour bus,” she said. “We met every member of the band and even got their autographs.”
As impressed as she was with the band’s show, she was equally dazzled by another singer who performed at Stonehill.
“I remember everyone really being blown away by Sara Bareilles," she said. "It was before she was widely known. It was great hearing her perform live!”
Charli XCX put on quite the show for students in 2017.
Chelsea Cutler shreds on her guitar during Spring Concert 2019.
Mandy Lee of Misterwives during the band's 2022 performance at Stonehill.
Attending this year's Spring Concert?
Tickets are $20 and must be purchased in advance at the Information Desk in the Roche Dining Commons. Sales begin Monday, March 20, and end Thursday, March 30.
Stonehill students can purchase additional concert tickets for their guests, who must have a valid guest pass to enter campus.
This program is sponsored by the Student Government Association Programming Committee.
