By Arden Berry | Arts & Life Editor
Country and Christian music have dominated Foster Pavilion’s brief history as a concert venue. However, Mt. Joy and Ax and The Hatchetmen will bring a new genre to the stage 7:30 p.m. Thursday.
The concert follows two country-filled shows by Old Dominion and Braxton Keith. Mt. Joy, an indie rock band, sold out a show at Madison Square Garden in September and two shows at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in August.
Lubbock sophomore Evynn Martin said she has been to two Mt. Joy concerts, one of which was the Red Rocks performance.
“They’re such great performers, and they have such a fun stage presence,” Martin said. “I will say, being able to see them at Red Rocks Amphitheater is genuinely, has been my favorite concert I’ve ever been to. It’s just such a cool environment.”
She said Mt. Joy concerts are unique because they often split their concert into two parts, offering a break in the middle.
“They give you a little break, which for somebody who’s been to, gosh, dozens of concerts, it’s kind of nice to have a little break in between,” Martin said. “It allows you to get have a restroom break. Sit down for a second if you want.”
Martin said she is planning to go to the Foster concert but is holding out for free tickets.
“If not, I’m going to have to buy them anyways, because I can’t miss the opportunity to see them again, even though I’ve seen them twice already,” Martin said.
Ultimately, Martin said Mt. Joy concerts are “worth the money.”
“They’ll tell you a little bit about their songs going into things and help you connect with the music, but they don’t talk your ear off,” Martin said. “They want the connection to be based off of music, which is, I mean, the most essential part, but they’re fun. They turn sad topics into fun beats. And who doesn’t love that?”
However, students are not the only Mt. Joy fans on campus. Shelby Cefaratti-Bertin, assistant director of media and public relations, said she “fell in love” with the band.
“We were in a little cabin and it had a record player and two Mount Joy albums,” Cefaratti-Bertin said. “And we listened to them on repeat for about a week.”
Cefaratti-Bertin said she likes the band’s eclectic, unique sound.
“I think that they don’t really fit to any demographic,” Cefaratti-Bertin said. “They’re really kind of universal.”
She said she would recommend a variety of songs for students just starting to take interest in the band.
“A lot of their albums tend to be thematic,” Cefaratti-Bertin said. “Like the ‘Rearrange Us’ album is about breaking up and relationships and stuff. And the songs kind of build on themselves. ‘Silver Lining’’s really great. ‘Sheep’ is a really great song off of their very first album. ‘Lucy’ is on their latest album. And what’s interesting is sometimes they have these really upbeat songs, but they’re about things that are really serious. So the lyrics are really cool. I find the lyrics to be very telling, and it’s worth listening to the lyrics too.”
Cefaratti-Bertin said Waco is Mt. Joy’s only Texas tour stop this fall.
“The fact that they’re coming to Waco is super special,” Cefaratti-Bertin said. “I think it’s something that students really take advantage of. The more that we support indie bands, especially here, the more we’re going to get them.”
Tickets for the concert are available at the event ticket website. Student tickets are currently $42.58, a discount from the previous prices.
