The Colgate Live Music Collective (CLMC) hosted musician Ana Egge last weekend, organizing the performance at Flour & Salt Café from 8 to 9 p.m. on Saturday, April 15. The CLMC is a team of faculty, staff and students united by the goal of bringing live music to both Colgate University and the broader Hamilton community. The Collective hosts various artists and concerts, bringing live and vivacious songs to the community at no cost.

Egge, a Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter, has long been involved in the music industry. Ever since releasing her first album in 1997, she has written and performed songs on various topics, ranging from social unrest to interpersonal relationships.

This is not her first time on Colgate’s campus, either. Egge performed at 110 Broad Street as part of the Brown Commons Coffeehouse Music Series in 2018, a successful performance that left many eager for her return to Hamilton.

Sophomore Matthew Shapiro, both a musician and music major at Colgate, was particularly excited to hear Egge perform. Having previously heard of the Colgate Live Music Collective, Shapiro said he was intrigued to see which artists the network would invite.

“As a music major, I’m always interested in hearing other musicians and songwriters perform. I hadn’t heard too much about Ana Egge before, but I had heard that she came to Colgate in the past, so I was definitely interested in seeing her perform, especially because her last performance was before I was a Colgate student,” Shapiro said.

Egge performed her latest single, “Heart is a Mirror,” among many of her older songs. Like most of Egge’s songs, “Heart is a Mirror” is a personal introspective piece. The track encourages her audience to take a deeper look into themselves and reflect on who they are as people and, more importantly to Egge, who they want to be.

The performance was both a success in turnout and in terms of reception. Many students, like sophomore Zack Brown, loved her songs and the themes they conveyed.

“I thought that she was a great performer. She really has an amazing voice, and you can feel the emotions that she’s feeling and trying to convey when she sings,” Brown said.

Additionally, many students who had never attended a concert in Hamilton, particularly those hosted by the Colgate Live Music Collective, turned out to watch Egge’s performance.

Sophomore Jackson Moran had never attended a CLMC performance nor had he heard of Egge, but he still gave rave reviews of the performance. 

“I found Ana Egge’s performance to be great. I had never attended a performance hosted by the Colgate [Live] Music Collective, but I’m definitely glad I went. I really had a great time,” Moran said.

Moran encourages others to attend future performances hosted by the collective. 

“I really would recommend others to attend future music performances hosted by [CLMC],” Moran said. “I feel like it’s an engaging and memorable experience that connects the larger Hamilton community together, and allows everyone to experience the interpersonal moments of an artist’s music.”