A guitar is wrapped firmly across his chest; the old tunes of Leonard Cohan and Bruce Springsteen course through his veins. As Gregory Alan Isakov prepared to take the stage, the up-and-coming folk artist hoped his music, like his idols before him, would become vital to his audience’s ears.
The Education Auditorium was packed Wednesday night as fans gathered to hear Isakov perform. The singer/songwriter from South Africa has recorded various albums and finds great success in writing and producing his songs, especially through his indie-folk style of music.
A Colorado resident, Isakov was excited to perform for students with his friend and opener Natalie Tate, also a Colorado resident and folk musician.
Tate opened the show with her own personal style. A single instrument, creating a solid quality of sound that started the concert off well, matched her graceful vocals.
“Natalie Tate did an awesome job,” Casie Rosalez, a Spanish Linguistics major, said. “I didn’t know who she was before this, but I’m definitely a fan now. Her voice is smooth and soothing.”
As Isakov took the stage with his fellow musicians, the crowd began to swarm the deck of the stage. He played songs such as “The Stable Song,” “Saint Valentine” and “The Universe.”
With rich vocals and a mix of acoustic and electric guitars, violin and cello, his songs brought a sense of live artistry to the performance.
“I think performing is a really amazing way to connect with people. I used to, like, get really nervous and still have that too; it used to be way worse,” Isakov said. “I guess I really didn’t understand…how really cool a performance can be. Then, I started realizing that this was a chance for people to experience something out of their day.”
Which was exactly what this concert was, something UW students could really experience for themselves. With a packed house, the atmosphere was buzzing with anticipation. Before the doors opened, people were lining up, excited and eager for the indie artist.
From the opening notes of Tate, to the last song played by Isakov, the show was memorable not only for the UW community but also for the headliner himself.
“We had a great time,” Isakov said. “I know people just really appreciated music. Everyone we dealt with really liked it.”
This particular tour is a new experience for Isakov, who said it turned out to be worth the novelty.
“A whole college-like circuit; we have never done that,” he shared. “We are all talking and that was the coolest we had.”
At the end of the concert, people were already raving about what they had just heard.
“I loved how they got lost in their music. They would close their eyes and just play from their heart,” Rosalez said.
With his own style of music and personality, Isakov said his goal was to help students, as he calls it, “find the beauty in life” through his music. The reaction from the crowd as the show came to a close hints he did just that.
