Isa Cruz

Last Saturday, MacMillan House lit up with ambient, iridescent lights in anticipation of two musical acts: Bowdoin’s own DJ Lorca (Lorca Peña Nissenblatt ’27), followed by Addie Alaimo, an indie artist from Los Angeles, Calif.

The concert was a collaboration between Student Activities and the Entertainment Board (E-Board) in the first part of Bowdoin’s “Friend of a Friend” festival, which is two weekends long and brings in musical acts that students are connected with outside of the College. This was the second year the College has hosted the event. Ella Perry ’26 recommended Alaimo and her producer and guitarist Riley Schmedeman.

“I met Addie and Riley in preschool,” Perry said. “We’ve stayed friends this whole time. It’s been fun since I’ve seen their whole music career progress.… I was really excited because this was a perfect opportunity for me to see them play here and then show all of my friends their music.”

Alaimo and Schmedeman made the cross-country journey to Brunswick, accompanied by two of their own friends from New York: Noah Bucner on drums and Ben Halle on bass and bells. Alaimo and Schmedeman were excited to play at the College because of their love for the state of Maine, which Alaimo pridefully dubs “the first state where the sun rises.” They also appreciate smaller venues, like other NESCAC schools.

“There’s a give and take with the people we play with, and there’s utopia. Everyone just loves each other,” Schmedeman said.

The night began with a set by Nissenblatt. E-Board co-president Oliver Clachko ’26 said the decision to have a Bowdoin student open for the first weekend of “Friend of a Friend” was intentional.

“People at Bowdoin love supporting their friends,” Clachko said. “There’s a lot of talented people at Bowdoin, so we thought it would be a nice way to get people excited.”

Nissenblatt found that opening for Alaimo was a break from her normal DJing on campus.

“I feel like DJing at a party is so different from DJing at an event for a band, so that was a fun challenge,” Nissenblatt said.

Following Nissenblatt’s time at the turntable, Alaimo and her troupe emerged with a folk blend of acoustic and electric sound. Viewers formed a semicircle around the stage and clapped along to Alaimo’s songs, many of which were yet to be released on streaming platforms, like “Paths,” which came out yesterday. Members of the audience occasionally put their arms around each other and swayed or individually went on stage to shake bells for the group, acting as a fifth member of the band.

Spencer Sussman ’26 spoke highly of his concert experience.

“It was really impressive that they were able to keep the crowd interested in their original music for an hour and change because most of the crowd didn’t know any of the music and still stayed engaged,” Sussman said.

Zach Carlson ’26, who has been a fan of Alaimo’s for nearly two years, echoed Sussman’s praises.

“I want to reiterate how awesome it was,” Carlson said. “It was so cool. It was one of the best nights of my life.”

The second weekend of the festival kicks off tomorrow night, with DJ Do Not Tell a Soul About Old Navy Pants and WURLEY, an indie rock band from Wesleyan University, performing at Chase Barn in Boody Johnson House.