This year’s Orientation Roundtable (ORT) Mystery Concert gave first-year students an idea of the fun Queen’s has in store for them.
The surprise headlining artist this year was Yung Gravy, who performed for the first-year crowd on Sept. 9 in the Miller Hall parking lot.
The concert took place during Orientation Week—all participating students were given a ticket. This was the first time the annual event has been held since the pandemic.
When the doors opened at 6 p.m., many students showed their excitement for the performances ahead. The Journal spoke with several students about their feelings going into the concert.
“I’m absolutely stoked to be here. I got here at five o’clock, an hour before doors opened,” Emma Walcer, ArtSci ’26, said.
Many students expressed their excitement while waiting in the line to get in.
“This is the first concert I’ve ever gone to. It’s going to be a fun time and we’re going to make some memories,” said Kieran Kimberley, Comm ’26. “The fact that [ORT] got someone really well known to perform was a big surprise and it made me really happy.”
The Journal also spoke with several Queen’s First Aid (QFA) volunteers at the concert to learn about their role for the night and the safety training that went into the event.
“We’re an emergency response team on campus, so we have the level of advanced first responder training, which involves two weekends—about forty hours—which is a level up from standard first aid,” Jackie Tkachuk, ArtSci ’23, said.
QFA staff have training in skills such as oxygen administration and advanced injury management. These skills prepared them well for the event, said QFA public relations officer Emily Suggett, Nurs ’24, in an interview with The Journal.
The crowd began to gather as opening act DJ L.A. Foster brought in the crowd with popular beats and an energetic attitude. By the end of her set, the crowd was noticeably larger and energy among the students was high.
Following L.A. Foster, rapper Floss took the stage, opening with upbeat rapping. His set slowly turned into spoken word poetry, spreading his message about “showing love to each other.”
During Floss’ set, the first-year students’ physical engagement hit a high as the gate dividing the crowd and the stage area fell forward, requiring QFA to step in and assist students. Concert volunteers and ORT coordinators pressed themselves against the gate to keep it upright in hopes the students would back up.
The crowd’s excitement continued into Yung Gravy’s set. Throughout the evening, students were on-and-off chanting “F—k Western,” alluding to the ongoing rivalry between the two universities.
Students who were more eager about Gravy’s performance held up signs which referenced his relationships with TikTok influencer Addison Rae’s mother, Sheri Easterling. Students even began chanting “Sheri” repeatedly throughout his performance.
As Gravy’s performance continued, students kept pushing to the front. AMS Vice-President (Operations) Tina Hu came onto the stage and advised the crowd to take “two steps back” and behave if they wanted the concert to continue.
The night continued after this announcement, as Gravy sampled hits like “Betty” and “Mr. Clean.”
Gravy took to interacting with the audience by sprinkling the crowd with bottled water and throwing his hoodie into the crowd to one lucky first-year student.
Upper-year students, most of whom had not gotten to experience this event during their Orientation Weeks due to cancellations caused by COVID-19, camped outside of the parking lot to see the concert.
Overall, students said the experience was exciting, and they were thrilled the ORT coordinators had managed to secure a performance from Yung Gravy.
Tags
AMS, Mystery Concert, ORT, Yung Gravy
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