Did you love Jesse McCartney when you were twelve? Well, you’ll still love him now. Jesse McCartney took to the sold-out Lyric Theater on Tuesday night to perform old beloved tunes and new hits. Hillel sponsored the concert for Daniel Pearl Music Day, a day honoring Daniel Pearl, a journalist and musician, who recognized the power of music.
Leor Clark, Vice President of Programming at Hillel, helped plan the concert and personally identifies with the message of Daniel Pearl Music Day.
“I am a musician and this is something I am very passionate about,” said Clark. “I believe that music can bridge gaps between different groups of people.”
Clark, along with the Hillel board, started planning the concert in January. McCartney was one of Clark’s top choices since she grew up listening to him and she was most excited to see people’s reactions to the concert.
The 5:55 started the show off, playing old hits and new mashups. The crowd slowly collected towards the stage, dancing and singing, while waiting for McCartney to come on. McCartney took to the stage around 8:45 pm to the screams of the crowd.
McCartney played old hits like “How Do You Sleep” and “Leaving”, where the crowd sang almost louder than him. He danced his way across the stage and even brought a girl from the audience on stage to sing “The Stupid Things”. And, of course, he couldn’t leave without singing “Beautiful Soul” and came back for an encore. Stephanie Vuong was among those in the crowd most excited to see McCartney.
“Jesse was really into his performance and had killer dance moves which made the concert really fun!” said Vuong. “It’s also been my dream to hear Beautiful Soul live so that made me really happy.”
Neeka Eghbali echoed her sentiments.
“The Jesse McCartney concert was a blast! He is such a fun performer and the energy from the crowd was undeniable,” said Eghbali. “I went with my sister and we were pretty close to the front row. We were pinching ourselves when he started singing Beautiful Soul!”
In between songs, McCartney interacted with the crowd, asking what there is to do on a Tuesday night in Blacksburg. Soon the crowd was schooling McCartney on TOTS and its’ signature drink, the rail. Throughout his set, McCartney hinted heavily that he would end up at TOTS. Sadly, he never made an appearance.
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