After a fall concert that many, including CAPE, would consider a major bust, the pressure was on to put together a spring concert that pleased the SNHU community; CAPE did just that. On March 4, the SNHU community, as well as the general public, packed the SNHU Arena as rapper and media personality Yung Gravy took the stage.
The concert was a year in the making and has been at the forefront of CAPE Vice President Megan Rogers’ (’23) agenda.
“Right when you get the position [of Vice President], you start planning the concert right away. Aside from other duties, the concert is your primary project…it’s the main role of the position,” said Rogers.
The concert began with the members of CAPE, along with advisor Kadie Dickson, coming on stage to kick off the night. The second they walked up the stairs and onto the platform, the crowd went nuts. For Rogers, this moment was full of excitement and emotion; realizing the time that went into planning was worthwhile.
“[Walking onto the stage] was magical; life stopped, and I truly don’t remember what I said up there,” said Rogers. “I went to one of the SNHU suites before to get a feel because I had not been in the arena before, I had just been out making sure all the volunteers were good, making sure backstage was good, making sure Yung Gravy was good….I hadn’t had the chance to see how many people were there. [I saw] the ticket numbers but hadn’t seen what that looked like.”
Rogers pulled all the strings, but the work of the rest of the E-Board should not go unnoticed. Rogers emphasized that the show would not have been possible without them.
“I’m so grateful for my team,” said Rogers. “We are a force, and I could not have done this without them. I truly love and appreciate every single one of them, especially our advisors Kadie [Dickson] and Lucas Frazier; they encouraged us so much and had so much belief in us throughout it all. My team is there to lift me up and put us out there; it’s not just me.”
For Dickson, the journey to Yung Gravy has been as long as her tenure at SNHU; her position as Assistant Director of Student Involvement Operations comes with the role of CAPE advisor.
“For some context, I started working at SNHU on May 2, 2022; that is significant because we had our first planning meeting with the arena on May 5, 2022,” said Dickson. “So quite literally, since I started working at SNHU, a lot of what I have been doing has been [preparing] for the concert.”
Planning a concert for more than 5,000 fans with one of the biggest names in modern media is no simple task, and Dickson pointed out, emotionally, how proud of her students she is.
“These students work[ed] incredibly hard to make this a reality, and there were so many different points throughout the process that weren’t, dare I say, sexy or glamourous, and so having this final product showcased how much love, energy, and time went into this. Everything from the artwork, the marketing, the shuttle system, [to] making sure that there [were] opportunities for students to get involved as much as possible,” said Dickson.
A great concert is something to look back on proudly for CAPE, but it also means that the expectations from the student body will be high. With no fall concert for the 2023-2024 school year, the planning begins for next year’s CAPE Vice President with the next spring concert, and Rogers’ hopes are high.
“I think that this is going to be great for the VP next year to be able to focus on….If the VP can take the time to make even more shirts, have events leading up to the concert, sell stuff prior, it will help grow the concert more and be able to fulfill the needs of the students,” said Rogers.
The spring concert being held at the SNHU Arena is not a one-time event; CAPE confirmed that next year’s concert will, again, be held in the SNHU Arena.
“I had a meeting with the arena for next year…no talent has been acquired yet,” said Dickson.
The SNHU community really showed up for Yung Gravy, and for that, Rogers could not be more thankful. “I just want to say thank you to the SNHU community for coming,” said Rogers. “We could not have done it without [them].”
