This article is a review and contains subjective opinions, thoughts, and critiques.
Smooth R&B and pop vocals, top-notch audience participation, and all-around fun filled the 13th annual Frost Music and Arts Festival, held Saturday at the Frost Amphitheater. This year’s performers included student opener The Move and headliners Alemeda, UMI and Blxst. The student-led Stanford Concert Network (SCN) collaborated with Stanford Live and GoldenVoice to organize the concert, which drew attendees from across the Bay Area.
movement
Frostfest kicked off with a six-song set by The Move, a seven-piece student band that won SCN’s Battle of the Bands earlier this month. The group includes lead vocalist Jackson McCormick ’27, keyboardist Haohan Wu ’27, guitarist Ryoto Sato ’27, tenor saxophonist Ethan Tung ’27, alto saxophonist Quinn Simmons ’27, They include bassist Aakish Arun ’26 and drummer Jonathan Martinez ’27.
The Move set the tone for Frost Fest with bright, euphoric instrumentals and audience interaction. As concertgoers arrived and stood in the pit or sat on the amphitheater lawn, The Move opened with a few cover songs, including a groovy rendition of Frank Ocean’s “Super Rich Kids.” I opened it. The second half of the setlist included three of his original songs, all of which featured great instrumental arrangements perfect for an outdoor space like Frost.
“Patience” was a crowd favorite, highlighting McCormick’s raspy vocal abilities and The Move’s lyrical talents. A relaxed “light blue” color marked the end of the set. According to McCormick, the song was written “for people in life who just want to look up at the sky together.” The audience waved their hands back and forth as Simmons and Tung played saxophone solos.
The Battle of the Bands winner thanked the audience for enjoying the music and posed for a selfie with the crowd before leaving the stage.
Aremeda
Indie pop singer Alemeda graced the stage with background images of her two cats, Cinnamon and Truffle. The quirky background matched Alemeda’s musical style and the singer herself, whose cheerful and cheerful personality shined through during breaks between sets.
Alemeda’s smooth vocals and unique tone sounded nearly identical to her recordings, and she brought the audience to their feet with the bouncy pop track. My favorites are “First Love Song,” which has a catchy chorus and danceable beat, and “Don’t Call Me,” which has a rock-influenced instrumental.
Empathy was a major theme in Alemeda’s set list. She performed her recently released headbopper “Guy’s Girl” and told the audience that the song was about a breakup with her friend, adding, “We all know that’s a really tough thing.” Told. Alemeda also performed her unreleased song “I Already Dug Your Grave,” and she asked the audience to dance with her if they thought she should release the song. Needless to say, the audience was on their feet and in high spirits.
Ocean
When UMI’s back banner appeared on the frost stage, the audience immediately started buzzing. The 25-year-old singer, known for her hits such as “Love Affair” and “Remember Me,” is a highly anticipated performer at Frost Fest, and I’m personally looking forward to her live performance. He was an artist I was looking forward to.
When UMI took the stage, they greeted the crowd with contagious enthusiasm. She likes to begin her performances with her meditation, she said, leading the amphitheater with a series of deep breaths. UMI asked her audience to consider her purpose for the night, which she said was to “feel love, joy, and freedom.” At the end of the set, she revealed that she plans to release her meditation app later this month.
The first song on the set list is “Wherever Ur”. This showcased UMI’s vocal talent and inspired palpable energy from the audience. UMI encouraged the audience to sing along to “Love Affair” and sang it enthusiastically.
The theme of UMI’s performance was audience participation. Throughout the set, UMI selected audience members and asked them their names and fun facts. She led the audience in singing “Happy Birthday” to her fans. After “Love Affair,” she jumped down into the pit to greet fans face-to-face.
UMI took a break from singing about halfway through the setlist to introduce an audience-based portion of the performance. She called this “bringing the studio to Stanford.” UMI invited the audience onto the stage and encouraged freestyle dancing, singing, rapping and more to the beats played by the DJ. Among them was student singer girlfriend EASHA (Easha Nandyala ’24), who in her freestyle declared her fandom of UMI and her appreciation for her music. UMI had previously talked about her college days where she dreamed of working in the music industry, so this moment felt like a great full-circle experience.
Other highlights included UMI’s cover of SZA’s “Snooze” and a performance of the nostalgic hit “Remember Me,” where they sang and asked the audience to harmonize.
“I love doing this because hearing all the voices in the space makes me feel how many people are actually with me,” UMI said.
burgust
Three hours into Frostfest, headliners Blxst took the stage. The 31-year-old singer, rapper, and songwriter from Los Angeles is known for his collaborations with artists like Kendrick Lamar and Snoop Dogg, as well as his unique West Coast flow. Many in the audience appeared to be his longtime Blxst fans, and the amphitheater erupted with excitement as his set began.
Blxst’s performance highlighted their overwhelming stage presence as they danced on stage and engaged with the audience. The live band was phenomenal and added a great dimension to the R&B tracks of the night. “The only rule at a BLXST show is to have fun,” the singer told the crowd, continuing to deliver on this promise with danceable beats and convincing vocals.
A highlight of the performance was backing vocalist Cheyenne Wright, who accompanied BLXST on nearly every song on the setlist. She was incredibly powerful and dynamic throughout the show.
Blxst showed their love to their longtime fans by performing some classics like “No Love Lost” and a few songs from their early “Sixtape” EP. The audience was in high spirits as they sang along to the guitar-heavy “Still omw,” the perfect summer night anthem.
Like Alemeda and UMI, Burkst also engaged with the audience, encouraging them to chant, “They don’t like us.” This is a reference to the latest song in his feud with past collaborator Kendrick Lamar and rapper Drake. But the focus of the performance was really on the music, with Blxst closing his set with his famous song “Chosen,” ending the night on a high note and ending his fest with an unforgettable Frost.
