On February 11th, Deerfield will bring to campus Lost Kings, a DJ duo that quickly rose to fame through the popular app Soundcloud. Lost Kings started their musical career in Los Angeles, and have since gained popularity nationwide with over 80,000 followers on SoundCloud. Their most famous song, “Phone Down,” has been played over one million times on the app alone, and the remixed versions have been played double that amount.
Claire Koeppel ’18, a member of the Student Planning Committee (SPC), led the effort to bring the group to Deerfield. “When I was thinking of people we could potentially bring to campus, I immediately thought of Lost Kings,” she explained. “Their new song “Phone Down” has become really popular and they’re definitely on the rise in the music industry.” Koeppel contacted the manager of the group to inquire about the possibility of holding a private concert on campus and recieved a positive the next day.
The Deerfield administration was also enthusiastic about holding such an high-profile event on campus. Koeppel explained that the administration had no objections, which made the planning of the event go much more seamlessly. She also wanted to recognize Mr. Brian Barbato, Student Activities Coordinator, for helping SPC with planning the event, and Mr. John LaPrade, who has assisted SPC in arranging the technical aspects of the concert.
Koeppel addressed the financial side of the concert, stating that it will be free for all students as it is sponsored by SPC. The entire event is costing the school around $18,000 of their budget, which is very manageable.
The concert, a 90 minute-long set, will be held in the dining hall, with the small bubble blocked off and a small stage set up in front of the two pillars and a large screen behind it. Koeppel also spoke about how the atmosphere of the dining hall will be completely transformed for the event. The windows will be blacked out to capture the atmosphere of a real concert as much as possible, along with confetti cannons and tons of lights.
The event also serves as a much-appreciated break in the middle of the long winter term. Koeppel explained, “The winter here gets really tough and we all would definitely appreciate a big ticket event to bring up the mood and have something to look forward to.”