Friday nights are usually busy nights on campus with students making their way to their respective weekend plans. On Friday, October 19, the SNHU community came together to enjoy this year’s major concert put on by CAPE featuring Cheat Codes with SNHU alumna DJ Halestorm as the opener.
The Fieldhouse in the Athletic Complex was bustling with energy as attendees danced to the hype music bursting from the speakers. Vice President of CAPE and Coordinator of the Major Concert Shannon Gayron (‘20) explained the set up for the event, which started at 9 a.m.
“Everything went very smoothly,” Gayron said with enthusiasm. “We had some amazing volunteers that helped us and everything got up. We were done around 3 p.m. with set up and we did some sound checks and we’re all set. We’re ready to go.”
CAPE volunteers and Public Safety greeted students at the door, with Public Safety checking students’ pockets and bags. Hooksett Police could also be seen patrolling the Athletic Complex to ensure a safe environment that could be enjoyed by everyone. Approximately 700 people crowded in front of the stage in anticipation for the night ahead of them.
Haley Mailloux, otherwise known as DJ Halestorm, expressed the same excitement as Gayron before the show explaining her enthusiasm for being able to perform as a SNHU alumna.
“I’m excited to be back. I have so much love for this university. It’s kind of crazy,” Mailloux said.
Mailloux is a recent graduate from May 2018, and she has been DJing for about four years. She also performed at SNHUstock 2018 as an opener for GrooveBoston, as well as other events around campus. It was clear that the audience was getting pumped up for the main act as they danced to Halestorm’s mixes.
Then, the moment everyone had been waiting for took place. Cheat Codes, the Los Angeles based DJ trio made up of Trevor Dahl, Kevin Ford and Matthew Russell, took the stage and immediately hyped the crowd up. Each of the members took turns interacting with the audience, including throwing dollar bills at the crowd and jumping off stage to dance with them. They played a mix of their originals and other pop songs, including some well received throwbacks.
“I was so surprised at how good the performance was,” Gayron said. “I honestly think more people would have attended if they knew how the performance was going to be…there was a whole bunch of confetti and they were super interactive.”
After Cheat Codes ended their set, the energy was still high. The spirit in the crowd lasted all night, even after the SNHU students dispersed and went their separate ways. The concert goers were amazed by the performance they had just seen; Cheat Codes left nothing to be desired.
