Red, blue and green lighting phased in and out as Belmont students Bridey Costello and Corrina Gill sang with former Bruin Abby Cates on Sept. 7 at the sold-out East Room.
The show came together quickly after Cates saw an opportunity to perform with her friends. The East Room proved to be the perfect setting, with its intimate stage and groovy lighting. The Belmont faithful packed into the small venue on Gallatin Avenue to support Cates, Costello and Gill, and sing their songs back to them.
The sold-out concert kicked off with Costello performing some already-released singles. Her set ended with “Wasting Your Time” which had the crowd jumping up and down.
“I always love doing ‘Wasting Your Time’ just because if people are coming to my short little show, they usually know it,” Costello said. “Everyone was engaged and wanting to be there and people were just having the time of their lives.”
With the small venue, the trio was able to talk to the crowd with one of the audience members telling a joke as Cates tuned her guitar.
“That concert just had really great energy,” Gill said. “I just felt equally honored and humbled to be in that room with all of them.”
During her set Gill sang “Tire-swing Song” and her song “Twister” as a duet with Costello. The song was written from the perspective of a tornado and is she and her band's favorite to play live.
“I love singing with Bridey because our tone and our vocal tambours are so similar,” Gill said. “I think we sound really good together. And it's a banger, and it's grungy, and the band just sounds full and amazing. It's just easy to get lost in.”
Cates came onto the stage for her set with disco ball earrings and a painted guitar with bright swirls and mushrooms. She played unreleased songs “Lawerence,” which she said was about her college house in 12 South, and “Girlfriend to Prom” which is a self-described religious trauma song.
“There's been shows where you feel like nobody's listening to you,” Cates said. “And also it's very cool to have a show with all Belmont kids because they will basically always listen to you.”
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PHOTO: Bridey Costello. Rachel Finian/Belmont Vision
This article was written by Rachel Finan