Maggie McClure and Shane Henry as they perform their duet song from their collaborative EP “First Thing on My Christmas List.” | Julie Heffler/The Daily Cougar
In an effort to relieve students from the stress of final exams, the Student Program Board hosted another edition of its “Lunch Concert Series” Wednesday afternoon outside the UC Satellite.
The concert showcased two musicians, Shane Henry and Maggie McClure, as they each performed singles from their latest projects.
Students were able to sit down and relax as songs from McClure’s “Good Morning and Good Night” Extended Play and Henry’s “Beauty in the Struggle” album echoed throughout the surrounding area. Students also stepped up to the booth to purchase CD’s for $5 and take pictures with the artists.
In addition to their solo projects, McClure and Henry also performed duet songs from their “First Thing On My Christmas List” EP.
SPB’s concert chair and accounting junior Kevin Lacson said the outdoor concert was well received and that McClure and Henry resonated with students.
“I think it went really well. Usually because people are so busy, students would just walk by, but they actually stayed this time and that says something,” Lacson said.
“I’m really happy for (McClure and Henry). They did really well.”
McClure’s piano pop rock and Henry’s jazzy, blues influenced music were able to catch the ears of students as they were applauded after each number.
“There was a lot of people paying attention to us and they were very responsive, probably the best yet,” Henry said. “We’d absolutely love to come back soon.”
SPB members also went out to the spectators to issue flyers about Wednesday’s Comedy presentation of Gina Yashire and tonight’s film of Seth McFarlane’s comedic fairytale, “Ted.” Lacson said that although there weren’t many performances to accommodate this years “Lunch Concert Series,” SPB is looking to change that in the months to come.
“Next semester, we’re trying to go for more concerts. Hopefully we’ll have someone perform on our campus twice a month so that we can push more music out there,” Lacson said.
Although McClure and Henry have toured to more than 100 different universities and venues, they were able to easily relate to students who were preparing for their upcoming tests next week, which made their performance memorable.
“I remember having to take finals myself and how stressful the time was so the fact that UH provided this to the students is really thoughtful,” McClure said.
“So, for us to play here for students, it’s very therapeutic for them so I hope that we were able to relieve their stress.”
