Back in September, I saw Jack Johnson in concert at
the Eisenhower Auditorium for free benefitting the "Rock the Vote"
concert tour. Jack Johnson is one of my favorite performers, so I was
extremely grateful for Penn State to have him come for us to see for free. Rock
the Vote is a concert tour whose mission is to engage and build political power
for young people in our country. They intersect pop culture with politics but
getting popular performers to play, as well as encouraging the younger
generations to vote in the up coming election.
I was also very eager to go to this concert,
because I have attended two other Rock the Vote concerts. Every four years, my
high school’s Student Government Association campaigns to bring musicians to
our school. Back in 2008, Gym Class Heroes and Tyga came, and this past May,
Timeflies and Third Eyed Blind came to perform. Although I was not able to vote
in the 2008 election, these concerts really give a good incentive to vote, and
definitely encouraged my decision to register for the 2012 election.
The actual performance was very lively. Before Jack
Johnson came on, G-Love opened up for him and he really engaged the audience.
What makes these concerts so worthwhile is that the performers actually take
the time to talk to the audience about the importance of politics and voting.
For many people, these performers are their idols, so they are very easily
influenced to say the least. G-Love performed many songs, both covers and some
of his own, and his talent of using his vocals, paired with his guitar and
harmonica player, really makes him a talented performer. Jack Johnson also had
an incredible performance. He performed a lot of music from his new album, “To
the Sea,” that is simply feel-good music. The acoustic guitar paired with his
soothing voice seems to win over anyone who listens to him.
The concert was one of the best nights I’ve spent
at Penn State. This type of concert is extremely valuable to people my age,
because they are getting the benefits of hosting great talent at our
university, but we are also being persuaded to make a difference in our
society.
No comments:
Post a Comment