The Palace Theatre Hosts Campus DJ and Vicetone

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On Thursday, February 26, Colgate University once again played host to Campus DJ at The Palace Theatre in downtown Hamilton. The event featured college student DJs from across Central and Upstate New York, all competing to be named the best college DJ in the region before Dutch DJs Vicetone came on stage and played a set. Beginning at 9 p.m., the competition featured three Colgate students: first-year Alex Mahedy, sophomore Raffi Khatchadourian and senior Spencer Kuzon. The two other competitors were from Syracuse University and Ithaca College, with Joel Almand of Ithaca under the stage name DJ Almond winning the Campus DJ event. 

The Campus DJ event was organized by the Colgate Activities Board (CAB) and sponsored by Chegg. Last year’s event featured CashCash as the headlining DJ’s after the competition, which was won by Jordan Gorelick ’14. Gorelick proceeded to win the next level of competition in New York City before travelling to Los Angeles for the Campus DJ finale. 

“The Campus DJ competition was pretty good; it was cool to see Colgate people showing off their talent,” senior Jess Sawicki said.

The headliner following the competition this year – Vicetone – is best known for their remix of Zedd’s “Clarity” and their songs like “United We Dance” and “Heartbeat,” a song featuring the vocals of Collin McLoughlin ’10. 

“Vicetone killed their set. They had really good beats, and it was really fun to dance to,” Sawicki said.

The event was free for all Colgate students who showed their ’Gate Card. Despite intense light shows, loud speakers and world renowned DJs, the concert had considerably fewer attendees than last year. Although it was a weeknight event, most students expected a larger turnout of students.

“Maybe if some more word was put out more people would have come. Way fewer people than I thought would have showed up,” Sawicki said.

One of the competitors had a similar view on attendance and promotion of the event.

“I thought the Campus DJ competition was well run, but I was hoping more people would show up,” Khatchadourian said. 

“There could have been more promotion for the event. I think Campus DJ does a good job finding up-and-coming talent in the area, but I believe if there were more direct involvement from Campus DJ representatives at the event, it would have run more smoothly.”

At the end of their set, Vicetone came to the front of the stage and greeted students waiting there, shaking hands and posing for pictures before sliding off backstage.

Correction 3/12/2015: Colgate senior, Spencer Kuzon, also advanced to the regional event.