Brought to us by the Band Booking Committee (BBC), rapper CJ Run and emo/rock band Cardboard Highway are set to make their first appearance at Lawrence University on Friday, Feb. 21, at 8 p.m. in WLFM House.
CJ Run is based in Chicago but hails from England. Well, they hail from a lot of places: first born in Germany but then raised in England, North Carolina and central Illinois. The artist is non-binary and their pronouns are they/them/theirs. Run’s music deals with their multiple identities of being queer and black, the feeling of being an outsider due to these identities and never being settled in one place. Their music also draws from Run’s Nigerian roots and includes a host of other influences.
Senior Georgia Greenberg, co-director of BBC, commented, “CJ’s team reached out to us for a show this term, and we were so happy to get to put this show together. I think their low-key but exciting vibe is exactly what this campus needs at this point in the term.”
Cardboard Highway comes to us from beautiful Kalamazoo, Michigan in which they play an indie rock/emo hybrid that is well-known to be a staple of the music scene in that town. They are a three-piece band consisting of vocals, guitar, drums, synth, bass and bells. The band has been known to produce a blend of “indie rock, Shoegaze rock, and psychedelic atmospheres,” according to Jam Records.
Greenberg also commented on how Cardboard Run found their way to our campus: “Committee member sophomore Camille Robertson reached out to Cardboard Highway about a show this term, and they were down to share a bill with CJ! We think the two acts are different enough in style while still sharing an emotional and vulnerable texture that will complement each other and make for a really fun show.”
According to Greenberg, BBC is “a team of LU students that turn LUCC funds into excellent parties and shows. It is important to us to bring performers to campus that we think Lawrence students might not otherwise have the chance to see perform or wouldn’t think to engage with. We try to produce one to two shows per term, except in spring when we put all our brain power and energy to planning LUaroo!”
The show will be hosted at WLFM house, which is student housing run by students from our campus radio station. BBC frequently collaborates with WLFM, such as the Joyce Manor and BRAVEPrince show in Fall Ferm. Greenberg said, “I personally prefer hosting a house show to, say, going to Esch [Hurvis Room] for something like this, where I can feel like we’re all friends sharing something special.”
Come see CJ Run with Cardboard Highway at WLFM House! Doors open at 8 p.m., and Cardboard Highway will open at 8:30 followed by CJ Run.