This Friday, the Make Waves label will be hosting their annual show, Equinox, from 5 to 8 p.m. Equinox is the label’s annual show, which involves almost every artist the label represents. The artists and student staff members are hard at work to prepare the event for students.
Make Waves’ staff is in charge of setting up Equinox, and the staff is made up of students who run everything from decorations to financials and legalities.
Lila Abercrombie and Kayla Pincus, AMPA seniors, are the presidents of the Make Waves label, responsible for setting up such a unique experience.
Kayla said that what was interesting about hosting Equinox for students is that it’s almost a brand new experience for students to see and that she is excited for more people to see the talented artists representing Make Waves.
“A lot of kids our age don’t have access to these sorts of things,” said Kayla. “Getting this experience before we even get into college is crazy.”
Primary producer and AMPA senior, Aidan Belcher, said he’s also enthusiastic about presenting Equinox, and that students should be excited for the performances. He added that he and the co-producer are managing Equinox for the first time, and that’s something important for them.
He said, “We’re doing things differently this time around and this is something that this school hasn’t really seen.”
Many of the students in Make Waves emphasized the grandeur of the new experience and the building excitement as the event approaches.
Chief Financial Officer and co-producer of Equinox Mikaylah Kubota, an AMPA senior, said that she’s excited for students to see the performances.
“I’m excited for people to see Kayla Pincus, Navonne, and DreamState,” Mikaylah said. “I think they’re going to be really good and diverse performances.”
One of the things that is involved in the preparations for Equinox is the technical aspect. Make Waves as a class period and group is a real label and business. Students manage everything from financials to representation of artists to organization of the event.
As the event comes closer, Mikaylah said that her job with the financials expanded.
Another new aspect of Equinox this year is the usage of two stages in both A1 and A2. Different artists will be performing on different stages.
Mikaylah said that her job involved making sure that the label could provide the money to have two stages. She expressed enjoyment for the process and said that it made her passionate about other aspects of the show.
“I love festivals and concerts, so being able to be in charge of everything going on like timing, sets, decorations, and people’s enjoyment, I think that’s the best part,” said Mikaylah.
Lila said that something to look out for is the diversity of the artists who will perform. She said that Make Waves has multiple solo artists, bands, and duos that all work with multiple genres.
“Genre-wise, we have a little bit of everything,” Lila said. “We have a lot of rappers this year, we have R&B, rock, and acoustic-folk.”
Kayla added that in her own performance, she’s ready to show the school the way she’s played with other genres.
“A lot of our artists are multiple things in themselves. Even in my art, I transcend from R&B to soft rock, so I’m excited for that,” said Kayla.
Overall, the show has been prepared over a lot of time. Students put their work into budgeting, preparing artists, hosting rehearsals, and organizing technical pieces for the show.
Aidan said that the show is going to be big, and he wants Hamilton to see what the students of Make Waves have put together.
“Seeing this whole show done by high schoolers on a professional level is something that’s going to open people’s eyes to the potential of this class and this label,” Aidan said. “There’s no part of our show that we believe to be missable.”
Equinox begins at 5 p.m. on Friday. Tickets can be purchased at https://www.hamiltonmusic.org/events/.
