On the night of Feb. 7, strobing lights, deafening music and thunderous chanting filled Kenmore Community Club as artists Gakeh and Alex Chase — seniors Rees Aquino (he/him) and Arman Alexander (he/him) respectively — took the stage for their first ever live appearances. For Alexander, this was the next step in a lifelong musical journey.
“I’ve always been into music ever since I was like 10. I was always into instruments. I played guitar, drums — I played drums in the band,” Alexander said. “I’m really genuinely inspired by The Weeknd, one of my favorite artists. I’m generally inspired by how he can craft these albums and make songs. It’s just something that’s very gravitating for me and captivating. So I just went and tried it, and it’s been great ever since.”
The concert featured two separate performances, with Aquino serving as the event’s opener and Alexander headlining. Zach Lee, a friend of Aquino’s, asked Arman if Aquino could open after the concert had already been planned. Alexander agreed, much to Aquino’s surprise.
“I was in the car with Justin, Zach, maybe Misael, I forgot who else was in there,” Aquino said. “But there we were talking about the Alex Chase concert, and then Zach was like, ‘Rees, do you want me to ask Arman if you can open for him?’”
After some texting between Alexander and Aquino’s friends, Gakeh became the official opener to the Alex Chase concert.
To make the concert a reality, Aquino and Alexander said they had to account for many factors. Where and when the concert would occur, how to generate an audience and the length of their performances were all main considerations. One of the most important decisions was what songs to play. Aquino played a set list made up entirely of his own original music. Alexander, on the other hand, performed a mix of his own songs and covers, many of which were by The Weeknd, a decision heavily influenced by his status as an up-and-coming artist.
“I chose around, let’s say 70% covers, 30% my songs to, you know, put the Alex Chase spin on it,” Alexander said. “But at the same time, get the crowd enjoying it because if you just played a bunch of songs you don’t know, you’re not going to have fun.”
After figuring out logistics, the next challenge was performing. As the performances began, both Aquino and Alexander said they experienced doubts on stage. As the opener, Aquino said he felt pressure to hype up the crowd. Alexander said he had felt nervous about performing in front of a crowd, but that these doubts quickly went away as he began to sing.
“It felt like 100 people were chanting ‘Alex Chase.’ I know it was just that friend group up there, but they were chanting Alex Chase. I was like, ‘Holy f*** bro, I cannot do this,’” Alexander said. “I swear to God, as soon as I started singing, all those thoughts left my mind, and I was genuinely in a trance. It was a weird thing, because I think performing would be my passion. My mind went empty, and I just had so much fun up there.”
Concertgoers might have noticed that Alexander and Aquino were not the only performers to grace the stage. Seniors Isak Lowe and Jaxon Coburn appeared as guest stars for Alexander while senior Miguel Rivera joined Aquino on stage. One guest star, however, was different from the rest. Aquino decided to have his younger brother, eighth grader Rylan Aquino, come on stage and perform with him, and the experience was everything he hoped it would be.
“I brought him up because there was this one song that people really liked, and I could just imagine everyone’s reaction when Rylan would come up,” Aquino said. “Seeing a little kid just perform and all that, and everyone getting hyped. Whatever I pictured in my mind before the concert, it was exactly how it was. I just knew that it was gonna be hype.”
As the curtain closes on a successful first concert, Alexander said there some things he would change if he were to host another. The first would be to simply get more people to come. Although Alexander said he thinks they surpassed the minimum number of people needed to make the concert a success, he also said that more people will always be better.
Finally, for all you Alex Chase fans out there, when asked if he would ever hold another concert, Alexander simply said:
“Well, we can’t keep it to just one night only, can we?”
