PROM Night at Delta Athenaeum celebrates a new generation of local musicians
Zion Isaiah before starting his set for PROM Night. // Photo by Elicia Castillo
On Feb. 10 local artists Cars in Drive, Marcotte, and Zion Isaiah performed their first joint concert, PROM Night. Their goal was to create a night full of love, while celebrating the artists’ new projects.
Cars in Drive and friend Molly Black perform in PROM Night concert. // Photo by Elicia Castillo
The crowd was intimate, but they kept the energy high and created a friendly atmosphere that welcomed each performer to the stage and new fans to the front of the crowd.
The performance space was in a large wood-floored room in the Delta Athenaeum with stained glass windows and a wide stage on the back wall. It gave me flashbacks to almost every school dance I attended.
Adding a photo booth, refreshment table, and round tables in the back of the room really brought the whole image together.
Cullen Green, known to most as Cars in Drive, started off the concert. Although he admits to writing only one love song, his entire set was perfect for slow dancing. The songs were personal and heartfelt, accompanied by his friend Molly Black on violin.
With a debut EP out later this year, Green’s set felt almost like an opening credit scene with only the pair on stage. The crowd was excited to sway to his music, setting a perfect tone for Marcotte to take the stage.
Marcotte performs in PROM Night concert. // Photo by Sarah Moore
The husband and wife duo Marcotte followed. Their smooth, jazzy vocals and captivating stage presence made everyone’s head turn. I was surprised by how they filled the stage, only using a guitar to accompany their soulful tunes.
They embodied the love theme. Perfectly blending voices and sharing stories of how they wrote each song together, including their love song anthem, “Stars.” Someone in the crowd to my right “whispered” to a friend: “They’re so cute it’s not fair. Life’s not fair.”
They left the crowd asking for more, and, to their surprise, they also left the stage named Prom king and queen.
Zion Isaiah took the stage for the finale, bringing a different energy than the soulful acts that began the concert. With himself on guitar and friend on drum set, you could almost feel the anticipation in the crowd.
Zion Isaiah takes the stage PROM Night. // Photo by Elicia Castillo
His ’80s indie-pop style made people stop swaying and rush to the front of the stage. The crowd seemed most familiar with Isaiah’s music, giving enthusiastic replies whenever he talked to the audience.
When he announced that he would perform his then-unreleased song “Medicine,” the crowd lit up with cheers. Even though people begged for an encore, the venue was strict on time constraints, and Isaiah couldn’t comply.
However, with his upcoming performance at the Boulevardia Festival this June, we don’t have to wait too long for another Zion Isaiah concert.
Although each artist brought a unique sound to the show, their music came together well. It felt like a concert meant for friends, and it was clear that the performers were having just as much fun as the enthusiastic crowd when they were on stage.
