ASCE Presents: Sunny Days

Last week UCSD’s ASCE hosted their Sunny Days event on zoom. Sunny Days is a new event series which “featured musical talents, actors, and influencers, and was filled with giveaways and activities” for UCSD students. Usually around this time of year, Sun God, the largest and most well attended annual concert at UCSD takes place, so one can assume that Sunny Days was this year’s replacement for Sun God.

Without further ado, let’s get into this lineup! Starting on May 10th was a concert by Gryffin. Gryffin is a musician, DJ, and music producer from California. He gained popularity from remixing popular songs and from releasing his debut single “Heading Home” which helped him hit #1 on Spotify’s US and Global Viral charts. He also has other hit singles on his most recent album Gravity.

Next, on May 11th ASCE hosted another concert showcasing the amazing Chloe x Halle. Chloe x Halle are actresses and “self-taught musicians and producers whose recordings have roamed from mature acoustic pop to sparse contemporary R&B.” While signed to Beyonce’s Parkwood Entertainment label, they’ve produced popular songs and albums such as The Kids Are Alright and Ungodly Hour which debuted last summer.

Although this was the only event I was able to attend, I can honestly say that this event was great. Although the interview and performance was pre-recorded, because Chloe was in Los Angeles and Halle was in London to film The Little Mermaid, the event was a cool way for students to distract themselves from the stressful time we all know as week 7. The performance was amazing as the highly talented sisters not only sang with tracks but also performed acoustic versions of their popular songs such as “Do It”.

On May 12th was “A Conversation with Aubrey Plaza”, an American actress and comedian. Attendees took part in a Q&A session and learned about her time working on award winning TV shows like “Parks and Recreation”; where she’s most known for playing her captivating character, April Ludgate.

After that, on May 13th Omar Apollo performed. Omar Apollo is an R&B song artist most known for his “laid back retro soul and R&B sound”. He became popular in 2017 after releasing his hit song, “Brakelights”, and recently dropped his new album Apolonio.

On May 14th, ASCE showcased the music stylings of Eric Nam. Eric Nam is a “Korean-American singer-songwritter” based in South Korea. He is most known for his first English album Before We Begin, but he has also released several K-pop styled songs, showing his unique blend of American and Korean songwriting. His most recent song, “Have We Met”, is definitely worth checking out!

Lastly, on May 15th at 6pm was “A Conversation with Hasan Minhaj”. Hasan Minhaj is an American comedian best known for his award winning Netflix show, “Patriot Act With Hasan Minhaj”. During the event, students were able to engage in a Q&A with Hasan as he discussed his previous and current works.

Considering how difficult and stressful this school year has been, Sunny Days was the perfect event to explore and engage in as students were able to end each day of week 7 with something new. From concerts full of vibes to discussions filled with information and motivation, you did not want to miss this!

Kiyahna Brown is the Arts & Culture Editor for The Triton and you can follow her on her Instagram and Twitter @Kitkat12600.