Comets mosh at 'Emo Nite' Concert

Strings Attached perform live, rotating-set concert for Comets at the Plinth

Strings Attached, a student-run music club that started in December 2019 as a place for UTD’s hobbyist musicians to connect, has rapidly grown into a community that unites students from all sides of the music industry. Their largest performance of the semester to date, “Emo Nite,” is the product of several months of planning and is a testament to the club’s harmony.

Emo Nite—which took place on Oct. 28 at the Plinth—showcased a variety of emo and hardcore punk rock songs, chosen by the club members who performed. The event was meant to recreate the atmosphere of a rock concert, and the interactions between the Strings Attached members and the audience created an open and lively concert environment. Overall, the performance was extremely dynamic, and the familial relationship between the club members helped bring the music to life.

Karla Budic, an international political economy freshman, said of Emo Nite, “I have been listening to this genre of music since middle school, and I think the reason I like it is because the lyrics and music really resonate with me. So, hearing it live and hearing everyone else in the crowd sing it and dance to it was definitely an experience.”

Starting as a club that was created only for stringed instrumentalists, Strings Attached has evolved into an organization that includes drummers, vocalists and even students who are interested in audio mixing and production. Although the members are of different ages, cultures and majors, they unite under their love for music and performance.

Through their weekly practices, the club has fostered a sense of community and belonging for several UTD students.

It was from these practices that the idea came for Emo Nite, which was created to help club members practice and perform their favorite songs live for other Comets.

Club vice president Cy Feagin, a business administration sophomore, said, “I think that our synergy is what makes us different. That’s something that is very hard for bands to develop, and I’m not saying that we are perfect with our chemistry. But for people to come out here, and one minute play with three instrumentalists in one song and then two songs later play with a completely different set [of people], I think that is really cool.”

Strings Attached is structured in a unique way—it revolves around giving each band member a choice in which songs to play. Usually, whoever wants to play a certain song can play it then rotate out for the next piece, in contrast to a typical band or orchestra where all the members play