Of the many things UCR students can look forward to, Winter SOULstice stands tall. With the Associated Student Programming Board (ASPB) behind the annual winter quarter event, the R&B and soul music concert promises a chill night with few attractions and food trucks. Juxtaposed to the other hyped and excitable annual UCR concerts like Block Party and Spring Splash, ASPB notes Winter SOULstice “caters to a crowd that wouldn’t necessarily be drawn to our other concerts on campus.”
Theme
This year, the concert’s aesthetic and theme was a mix of goth cottage core and alternate fairy. Featuring a skeleton with wings as a major motif, the merchandise also reflected the style fashionably. The designed shirt and crew neck were the main draw for concertgoers.
Lineup
The lineup for the event for this year’s Winter SOULstice was not as recognizable as past years’ lineups. For 2024, the three artists were Jay Wile, Dreamer Isioma and headliner Destin Conrad. While many participants would say that the lineup was not very recognizable, many would still end up enjoying the music heavily.
Attractions
This year’s attractions were the Flipbook Photobooth and Memory Makers Photobooth, both equipped with fun props for you and your friends to capture some memories. The concert was also accompanied by a small array of food trucks: The Sweet Stop, Pucker Up Lemonade Co, DD’s Chick and Cat Shack and FryDay FoodTruck.
Line
The 2024 Winter SOULstice line experience was indubitably much more relaxed as the tame turnout was easily handled by ASPB. Those at the front waited around 2:30 p.m. The entrance to the line, however, was slightly difficult to navigate towards as those coming from the side of the Rivera Library had to cross a slim and trippable path and the borders themselves were an obstacle for students who happened to have class Friday night.
With a late start at 6:55 p.m., the influx of students was smoothly guided by ASPB, as its team repeatedly told them to “not run,” slowing the flow’s pace. Unsurprisingly, most entrants walked into the stanchioned merchandise line and were handled in a coordinated manner. As the line quickly grew to surpass the stanchions, the overflow of the line was promptly handled. After obtaining their merchandise, there was equal interest in either hitting up the attractions or the concert venue for the first performer.
Set-Up
The set had a screen in the background of the artists that displayed their performances for everyone to see, increasing the visibility of all the R&B artist’s showings. When asking about the setup, third-year cell molecular developmental biology major and ASPB staff Paolo Piurque was happy to see that “everything went smooth” and “students love it.” With a prepared merchandise line experience and no notable problems, the R&B concert went off without a hitch.
Artist Performances
Jay Wile opened the concert with “HOLY” in a groovy and relaxed manner. While the crowd was at first small, the Texan artist would be met with a substantially growing audience by the middle of his set. Wile’s soft and chill songs like “Where R We Now” and “Honest” charmed the crowd over and performed his newest single “Nice Trip” for the first time live. The R&B artist also treated listeners with covers of “Ex-Factor” by Lauren Hill and “I Don’t Trust Myself” by John Mayer.
Though, while his smooth vocals fit the vibes that Winter SOULstice would want, Wile’s performance was mellow to a fault. The R&B artist’s stage presence was on the weaker side and he couldn’t produce any real stir in the audience with his crowdwork falling flat.
The second performer, however, broke the slumber of the crowd with their infectious energy. The multiple-genre artist, Dreamer Isioma, took to the stage and immediately worked the crowd and received screams. Known for their break-out song “Sensitive,” they softly opened with “Valentina” and at the end of the song threw flowers into the crowd, which energized the audience even more. With fun backgrounds of the “Powerpuff Girls” cartoon and “Pokémon” cartoon, Isioma had listeners in a fun chokehold, moon dancing on the stage and jumping all around in their performance.
The eccentric artist demonstrated a wide range of musicality with their tracks like the upbeat, jazzy “Gimme A Chance” and the softer, romantic “Dumb In Love With You.” Dreamer Isioma had won over the most hearts in Winter SOULstice and it’s evident that they were the highlight of that night. Their performance was only thorned by an awkward exit as they were about to perform one last song and their mic was cut out due to time restrictions.
Opening with “OFF DAT SH*T (FREESTYLE),” the headliner of this year’s Winter SOULstice, DESTIN CONRAD, came onto the stage greeted by roars of the warmed-up crowd. It was clear that the 23-year-old R&B Tampa artist was incredibly comfortable onstage with a charming presence and comedic banter with the audience. With buttery vocals and feel-good vibes, DESTIN CONRAD brought out a soulful performance with songs like the suave track “LUV N DEVOTION” and the sensual single “NOBODY KNOWS.” His performance, while outshined by Dreamer Isioma’s, still feels like a solid ending to the night and is representative of the nature of Winter SOULstice concerts.
Reception
Overall, the 2024 Winter SOULstice experience was a great one for many. Fifth-year public policy major, Tassfia Bari (she/her), has been to all the Winter SOULstice concerts in her attendance at UCR and cites this one as the best: “I actually really enjoyed it. The aesthetics are so nice … and everything is really good.” Second-year undeclared in CHASS major Kiera Samatra (she/her), also described her positive experience in regards to how Winter SOULstice compares to ASPB’s other concerts: “It’s very laid back, very chill … It’s definitely less packed than the other concerts that the school hosts [which] can get overwhelming sometimes.”
