Headliner Echosmith and special guest Andrew Ripp took the stage at the Freedom Hall Civic Center for the Student Government Association’s 2016 Major spring Concert Sunday evening.
Ripp kicked off the night by playing songs off his new self-titled album that debuted in October. Although he was raised in Chicago, Ripp lived in Nashville for quite some time, making his performance in Johnson City feel close to home.
In between sets, Ripp signed autographs and took photos with fans at his merchandise booth.
The headliner for the evening featured the four Sierota siblings: Sydney (lead vocals), Graham (drums), Noah (bass guitar and backing vocals), and Jamie (lead guitar and backing vocals).
Before Echosmith’s set, a video featuring the band played and discussed the topic of bullying. The video displayed how to be an ally and stand up for those who are being mistreated. This topic is close to the band and it even inspired their song “Cool Kids.”
SGA secretary of interior Doretha Benn welcomed the headliner and invited those sitting in the seats to join the crowd on the floor in front of the stage.
For the rest of the evening, the audience clapped, danced and sang along to Echosmith’s hits such as “Talking Dreams,” “Let’s Love” and “Bright.”
The band of siblings even had their mother, who also serves as the band’s videographer, join them on stage to video the crowd.
During one song, Sydney invited two members of the audience to join her and the band on stage to dance and sing along with her.
“Feel free to play this drum too,” Sydney said as she gestured to a large, single drum at the edge of the stage.
Later on, the band covered Modern English’s hit song “Melt With You” before closing the show with their own hit “Cool Kids.”
Some lucky fans were given the band’s drumsticks at the end of the show and a few fans even noticed that Sierota posted a photo of herself on Snapchat wearing the ETSU’s Echosmith concert T-shirt.
