Starting in Washington, D.C. and making their way down to South Carolina, the Bowdoin College Meddiebempsters charmed audiences as they toured the South this past Spring Break.
In the recent past, the group has toured in the Mid-Atlantic, New England and Southern California.
On this year's tour, the Meddies performed at various colleges and universities, as well as spontaneously wherever they were.
First meeting in Pennsylvania, they packed into three Chevy Malibus and made their way southward. Their itinerary included stops at Georgetown University, followed by Washington and Lee University, University of Richmond, Wofford College, College of William and Mary and Haverford College.
The tour's performance settings varied, ranging from traditional concerts, library study breaks, and impromptu song breaks.
The Meddies also visited alumni Steve Kolowich '08 and Bernardo Guzman '08 in Washington, D.C. during their stay. While visiting Kolowich during his lunch break, the group surprised his co-workers with a concert.
"My favorite performance had to be at William and Mary. Basically, we sat outside on a covered porch on the coldest, wettest, most miserable night," said Meddies business manager Luke Mondello '10.
"But we were so into the performance and had such a good time on stage, the sweatshirt and snuggie-clad crowd seemed to forget all about the rain and just enjoyed the show. It was pretty cool," he said.
At Wofford College in South Carolina, the group preformed a study break gig in the campus's main library. The women's chorus director, an audience member at the concert, was so impressed by the Meddies' performance that she asked them to accompany her to the chorus's rehearsal to sing.
"Performing for the women's chorus was really something else. They didn't know they were going to get a bunch of boys from Maine doing crazy songs," said Li.
"It was a cool thing because they were also studying music and they hadn't gotten to see it in this form," he said.
The Meddies had joint concerts at William and Mary, performing with the Intonations and at Haverford with the Haverford Outskirts. The group also had a spontaneous opportunity to attend a Tally Hall concert at the University of North Carolina. Following the band's concert on the UNC campus, the Meddies gave Tally Hall a taste of Bowdoin a capella by performing a short private concert for them.
Because of the variation of performance venues, set lists varied. The Meddies performed newer arrangements as well as crowd favorites familiar to Bowdoin ears such as "Because the Night" and "Love you Madly."
"On a tour you almost perform more freely because not everyone knows who the Bowdoin College Meddies are, so we come out fresh and we can either completely blow their minds or go mediocre. We can be kind of goofy and try stuff that we might not try at home," said Li.
"Its unbelievable the amount of ground you cover while you're on tour. You wake up in one state and go to bed in another. Every day feels so epic."
Though the tour was long and tiring, the group did not perform during two out of 10 days. On their day off in Washington, D.C, the Meddies explored the city, did some sight-seeing, and went to the National Gallery of Art. It was an opportunity for the members to spend time together apart from travel, preparation and performance.
"I think it really brought us together more than anything. I've never been prouder to be a member of the Meddiebempsters," said Adams-Wall.