X Ambassadors and Foreign Figures set to perform at USU
Photo Courtesy of USUSA
Just over April’s horizon and past the sea of final examinations lies the end of 2019’s spring semester. This semester has had its fair share of laughs, breakdowns, all-nighters, and fun weekend road trips, and whether it’s been an enjoyable year or a difficult one, all that hard work is worth celebrating.
On Saturday, April 20, X Ambassadors and guest Foreign Figures are traveling to USU to help usher in summer with the End of Year Bash. This is a great way to have some fun and relax before finals and crazy end-of-April schedules.
“The group is really entertaining and energetic…a lot of fun to watch,” said USUSA activities director Rachel Larsen. “They’ve got new music out and old music which people know and love.”
Larsen and her activities committee are charge of organizing USU’s annual End of Year Bash. They put together a list of recognizable bands who would be really entertaining and fun to see live, finally deciding on X Ambassadors who they secured for the concert.
X Ambassadors began in upstate New York in 2009 when Sam and Casey Harris joined forces with childhood friend Noah Feldshuh and college friend Adam Levin. The songs “Litoist” and “Unconsolable” garnered attention from Dan Reynolds of Imagine Dragons and Interscope records, with whom they scored a management deal and recording contract. Their 2015 debut LP, VHS, featured hits “Renegades” and “Unsteady” and launched X Ambassadors into the music industry’s spotlight. Since then, they’ve released many collaborations and singles, as well as toured around the country. The rock band is slated to release their third studio album later in 2019.
The concert’s opener is Foreign Figures, who are touring for the first time.
“They are currently on their “Let’s Get This Started” tour, which is their first ever actual tour as a band,” said Kylee Shaffer, a team member of Foreign Figures. Songs from the band’s newest album, Spectrum, are being released once a month throughout the year. The first two songs, “Don’t Let Me Go” and “UFO” have already been released.
Seth Dunshee, bassist for Foreign Figures, met fellow band members Jonny Tanner, Eric Michels, and Steve Michels while attending UVU. They have been an official band for about a year. “The name Foreign Figures is a nod to differences and how no matter how normal or regular we feel, we are the foreigner to someone else in the world,” Dunshee said.
Dunshee described the band as alternative with a pop voice. “We just write what we write and pull at the thread of curiosity and adventure,” he said, “That has led to some more emotionally beautiful songs, some weirder more alternative songs, and some more rock-infused stuff. If we write it, then it is Foreign Figures.
“We want to be able to connect with as many humans as possible,” Dunshee continued. “Just “getting big” is irrelevant. It’s the depth of the connection that motivates us, not just the amount of people who like our music. We are working super hard this year to get out the songs that mean the most to us.”
Foreign Figures will be releasing their debut album this fall.
On Saturday, April 13th, a week before the End of Year Bash, Foreign Figures will be playing in Logan at The Cache Venue at 8 p.m. Shaffer and Dunshee agree that the show will be “a great opportunity” for students to get “a taste of FF” before they open at the End of Year Bash.
Tickets for the 2019 End of Year Bash with X Ambassadors ft. Foreign Figures can be purchased at the Spectrum ticket office, the TSC Card Office on the second floor of the TSC or online at www.usueoyb.com.
Present your student ID upon purchase for $5 floor tickets or $10 general admission tickets. Tickets are available to the public for $20.
Larsen encourages anyone who wants to come to “get tickets before they go. We never know when they’re going to sell out.”
—William Bultez