Things got wild at the Veteran’s Memorial Arena on Saturday, as trap artist Bro Safari came to Binghamton. His performance was part of Forever Glow III: FutureHype, a seven-act electronic music show put on as part of Empire Fest, a three-day community event featuring carnival rides, games, food, a basketball tournament and musical acts. It was all put together by local radio station 93.3 WJOB-FM, together with the Broome County Urban League.
The concert started slow but, by the end, the arena was shaking with jumping and headbanging. Strobe lights, smoke machines and hundreds of bass drops came together to make a mind-blowing experience. As the night went on, the crowd got bigger and more intense. Many of the attendees dressed for the occasion, bejeweling their faces, and some toted LED hula hoops that added to the ambiance.
The entire audience danced to the beats from 7:30 p.m., until the shows closed four hours later (due to the arena’s strict 11:30 p.m. curfew). While the music was loud, the entire experience was aurally incredible.
“It was like listening to crystal raindrops hitting my ear drums,” said Tony Fahey, a sophomore majoring in computer science. “My homie Jared put on an amazing set. Jizzy Fra for life. Bro Safari can father my children.”
While Bro Safari was the main attraction, perhaps one of the highlights of the event was that most of the DJs were hometown acts, and students were given the opportunity to see their friends and peers showcasing the craft at its best.
“I really enjoyed the show and especially how they incorporated local acts such as my friend Christian Randell to open for them,” said Caitlin Kelly, a senior majoring in environmental studies. “It was interesting to see the local talents and a friend on stage. Plus I am a huge EDM fan myself so it was great to have another show in the area.”
Six of the seven artists were local to the area, and included The Templar, NOTIXX, HypeMan Mike, Alfred Moonboots, MADNICE, Randy McRandell and Jizzy Fra. Many even had connections to the University, like NOTIXX (2012 alumnus Ryan Sinatra), Randy McRandell (Christian Randell, a senior majoring in psychology), and Jizzy Fra (Jared Frazer, a senior majoring in English). The main act, Bro Safari, closed the show.
Forever Glow III is the third in a series of local dance music concerts, the first two featuring all-local artists. While those both had good turnouts, this one was bigger partly because of promotion through a student-made company, That New Jam. The business, headed by Randell, is focused on putting “the people who spin the wheels in the industry in the limelight through a weekly radio show, playlist curation and daily blog posts,” according to their website.
That New Jam reached out to the University community, expanding sales by approximately 400 tickets. The company opened up “pop-up shops” around the Binghamton community, where they sold tickets, without the use of Ticketmaster, for $25. They said that Ticketmaster’s fee was unfair, and that this was the best way to sell to students at a reasonable price.
While the mixes sound so good they seem to be pre-recorded, every piece performed was created right there on the spot.
“You can make stuff sound pretty weird and pretty trippy and stuff like that, if you know what you’re doing,” opener Jizzy Fra said.
He explained that while he doesn’t usually change the beats per minute, he will often slow down a song to “bring out different qualities in the song that you wouldn’t notice before.”
Each and every act showed off their individual styles during the performance, and while Bro Safari was truly incredible, it was an awesome way to see a community in Binghamton present what they do best.