Once Childhood Crush Jesse McCartney Performs at “UCA” -

By Emily Prendergast

Jesse McCartney took the stage with energy and enthusiasm for this year’s Capital Fest, organized by Program Board. The concert was held on Friday, September 20 in the McMahon parking lot where over 1400 students gathered to enjoy McCartney’s performance and reminisce about their early 2000’s lives. McCartney was joined on stage by his guitarist, Dory Lobel, who he has been performing with for over 10 years and is the lead guitarist in The Voice, a hit television show for aspiring singers. Catholic University, otherwise known as “UCA” according to McCartney, joins the list of over 150 universities that he has performed at.

This year’s event topped last year’s turn out of approximately 800 students for the indoor rave-like Capital Fest. Students began flooding into the event when the doors opened at 7 p.m and were able to buy food from various vendors, and stopped for photo-ops in front of the iconic stage backdrop of Capital Fest, featuring Red the cardinal. Vendors included Captain Cookie, Swizzler, Timber Pizza, and other popular food trucks amongst Catholic U students.

Hannah Cundey, programming chair for Capital Fest, was the lead coordinator for the event and chose McCartney as the headliner for this year’s event. Catholic U worked with Rams Head Entertainment, an entertainment agency that works with various bookings of artists across the country, in order to connect with artists that were available for Capital Fest that would fit into the set budget.

Cundey began connecting with Rams Head to kickstart the planning process of Capital Fest in May, 2019. She believes that this year’s event was a success, especially compared to past years.

“I think the event turned out great! The attendance was over 1,400 students which is one of the largest turnouts we have ever seen,” Cundey said. “The students really enjoyed Jesse as well as the many food trucks we had to offer.”

Students enjoy snow cones during the concert. Courtesy of Emily Prendergast

The performance created a sense of nostalgia amongst the audience as he sang his hits from the late 90’s and early 2000’s, including an encore performance of his most famous song, “Beautiful Soul.”

Along with his most popular songs, he also performed his most recent songs “Wasted” and “Better with You,” and announced for the first time that he just finished producing his newest album that will be released soon. This new album was inspired after audiences nationwide responded positively to “Wasted,” his first single in four years. The new album does not have a name or official drop date yet.

Some members of the audience showed their love for McCartney through handmade signs with references to his top songs. One sign that caught his eye advertised a party which he used to introduce his song “Wasted.” Many students expressed their excitement with Catholic University bringing McCartney to campus for Capital Fest.

Students stood with lyrical signs in the front row. Courtesy of Emily Prendergast

“I enjoyed the concert and it was really cool to see one of my favorite childhood singers come to my college,” said freshman Mark Pilkington. “My favorite part of the concert was when he left making it seem like he was done, but then came back and sang the best song ever: ‘Beautiful Soul.’”

Although McCartney’s set was on the shorter side at 50 minutes, students expressed their excitement with his performance and his impact on their childhood.

“Jesse was a childhood icon of mine and seeing him in concert was a dream come true,” said freshman Kirsten Grey.