Saturday’s forecast of rain didn’t stop students and faculty from celebrating music at the third annual Lafchella.
Hosted by Lafayette Activities Forum (LAF), Lafchella is an annual concert that includes student and faculty bands, as well as popular headliners. This year featured student bands Empty Threat, Sold Out Six, Lan Party and Gravitational Constant, with Imposters in Rome and Between Friends as the headliners. The event was emceed by Chisom Njoku ’23 and DJed by Jalelle Nourenie ’24.
Although the rainy weather caused the event to be moved to Kamine Gym from the Quad, students were still able to enjoy a wide range of festivities that have previously made Lafchella notable.
“We didn’t get rid of anything,” Mya Gaddy ’24, LAF’s director of music, said. “Really the main difference is just that it’s inside … and just figuring out where to actually host the event because we wanted a space where everyone could get to and that it would still be a good event.”
The activities provided included tie-dying, flash tattoos, bracelet making and record painting. LAF also had a table with a range of snacks and food trucks that had gyros and sliders.
Despite the set-up of the event being the same in the indoor venue, student bands were still split on whether or not they preferred Kamine Gym to the Quad.
“I performed at Lafchella last year, and the crowd [this year] definitely was more … reserved,” Ednetta Fullmore ’23, a member of Sold Out Six, said. “I liked it being outdoors. I felt like it was just a little bit more fun as a performer, like just the scenery.”
“If it were outside, it would have been ten times better,” Jaidan Marano ’25, a member of Empty Threat, said.
“Regardless, it’s good to see some support for music because a lot of it is student put-on, so there’s not a whole ton of opportunities like this, so it’s cool,” Gavin Johns ’25, another member of Empty Threat, added.
Njoku, also known as “MC Chiboy,” kept the vibes high throughout the event by hosting crowd games in between acts for Lafchella-themed merch prizes. He had dance competitions, trivia and singing challenges to win shirts, blankets and bucket hats.
“I think it would have been better if we were outside, but it doesn’t matter where I am,” Njoku said. “One thing about me when I emcee is this thing I like to say which is called ‘chop life,’ which means enjoy life to the fullest, let nothing stop you. So literally no matter where we are when I’m on the mic … you’re gonna chop life.”
Although this Lafchella faced unexpected gloomy weather, the event overcame this challenge. “Yeah, we [were] just having a blast,” Njoku said.
At the end of the event, the main headliner, Between Friends — a band with almost 2 million listeners on Spotify — took the stage. Many students were excited to hear them perform their most popular song, “Affection,” which has over 162 million streams.
“It was incredible to see the songs my friends and I all love come to life in front of us,” Allison Derrick ’25 said. “Between Friends had such great energy and sounded somehow even better than the recorded songs.”
“It seems like everyone’s having a good time enjoying the bands, doing the activities,” Gaddy said. “I’m just happy that everyone still came out even though it was inside and that the event is going well.”
Correction: A previous version of this article misidentified the DJ as Reni Mokrii ’25. The DJ was Jalelle Nourenie ’24. Correction made on 5/5/2023.
