by Anna Woods & Christine Nappi, Managing Editor & Senior Writer
Campus just got a little friendlier this past weekend.
After a three year hiatus, in-person Springfest returned in full swing, with the DJ duo Two Friends headlining the event on April 9. The LA-based group performed an hour-long set to an excited crowd of Jaspers, mixing together popular lyrics with electronic dance music beats.
The duo is most notable for their Big Bootie Mixes, which are hour long remixes and mashups of current popular songs. Their first one released in 2012 and they continue to make two mixes a year, with a new one coming soon. Fans can expect to listen to Big Bootie 21, the next yet-to-be released mix in May.
The Quadrangle spoke to the “Two Friends” Eli Sones and Matt Halper after their performance. The friends enjoyed playing for Manhattan and loved the energy in Draddy, despite the show starting at 1 p.m.
“Honestly, we had no clue what to expect and they [the students] were awesome, everyone was so fun,” Halper said.
Sones echoed a similar sentiment, describing how they didn’t know if students would be ready to party at the start of the concert. However, Jasper nation proved them wrong in the best way possible, dancing and singing along to every song the duo mixed.
“We were worried when they said it was like 1 p.m. start time,” Sones said. “Are like people gonna be awake? Are they gonna be ready… the answer is definitely yeah.”
The group is in the middle of their Adventureland Tour with stops across the country. Since January, Sones and Halper have been traveling to multiple states and cities to share their music with new audiences. After playing at Manhattan, the group flew to South Carolina to play at the Hidden City Music Festival at 7:20 p.m., and then immediately traveled back to the Tri-State area to play at Atlantic City’s HQ2 Nightclub and Beachclub at 1 a.m.
This busy schedule has definitely been a change for the duo since the pandemic hit, although they are happy to be back in full swing. Despite doing three shows this past Saturday, Halper describes that they mostly just play concerts on the weekends now.
“It went from zero [concerts] obviously to trickling in,” Halper said. “[We] did a bunch last year but not as much as normal, and then we basically jumped on a bus and did a million shows in a row. And then finally now we’re home and touring mostly on the weekends. So now we’re in the chill zone, even though it’s three [concerts] today, but it’s been good. Honestly, [we’re] grateful, [a] fresh break after working hard.”
Fans across the nation are happy to see the DJs performing in person, especially Manhattan College students.
Childhood education major, Emma Collins has been a huge fan of Two Friends for years and loved her time at Springfest.
“I have been a huge [Two Friends] fan for so long,” Collins said. “I was supposed to go to their concert a few months ago but it was snowed out. Glad I was able to have such a fun time with friends… Even though I’m already a junior, my first spring fest was definitely one I won’t forget!”
As a result of the event’s hiatus, this was the first Springfest for everyone, except graduating seniors who attended the 2019 Springfest pre-pandemic. Collins, a junior, enjoyed the day and felt that it was a great sign of a return to normalcy since the start of the pandemic.
“I think all the students were super excited this event was happening again. We have had so many events cancelled in the past because of Covid, so this is a great sign that things are slowly getting back to normal,” Collins said.
Aside from the concert itself, the quad transformed into a fun carnival experience, with food and games. The mechanical bull, a Springfest tradition, was incredibly popular amongst students. Additionally, Mr. Softee offered sweet treats in the lower forecourt.
The student body was thrilled to see Two Friends perform in Draddy, and Sones and Halper were thrilled to be there as well. Having started making mixes together while in college themselves, they enjoy visiting campuses all over. Sones and Halper hope that their performance at Manhattan will attract more students to listen to their music.
“I mean, it’s great,” Sones said. “We first started doing, not only colleges, but when we were still in college ourselves we’d like travel around to different campuses. And it’s like, I love it first of all, just getting to like see the country and see different schools, but then to get a new audience, like tonight, and hopefully you guys you know, you’ll graduate, you’ll move to whatever other cities [and] will come see us at those cities. So it’s like, we love coming to colleges.”