The Student Activities Board continued its Noon Tunes series on Wednesday, Feb. 21, with Nelly’s Echo is being invited back to perform. A contestant of NBC’s “The Voice” during its third season, this singer has been a common name in the minds of the Waynesburg students. SAB Vice President, Brooklynn Laymon, describes how she has grown to love how the artist puts “his own twists on most of the songs.” His covers have become quite popular on campus as Laymon says,“he is one of our more reoccurring ones.”

         Laymon says that all events for these next few months have been planned since last semester, with popular events like Bingo and Noon Tunes often found in the schedule for the students. This event marks the first Noon Tunes of the semester and will soon be followed by a Coffeehouse featuring another campus regular, Soldiers & Sons.

         Oftentimes, the artists performing at these events are found through an agency and online sources. As graduate assistant of Student Activities, Frank Harbaugh, explains that SAB has been in contact with the agency that manages Nelly’s Echo for years. He first came to Waynesburg shortly after his appearance on NBC’s “The Voice” and has been a regular performer since then. Many of the performers SAB have invited to campus have been found in similar ways, “They’ll just send us a list of different performers that are in the area or that are traveling and coming through the area,” Harbaugh says. SAB will then look on YouTube and see if these artists best fit what Waynesburg University wants to offer to its students.

         Regarding  the day of the event, Laymon said Noon Tunes is so popular on campus.At 12 p.m., the Beehive was filled with students getting lunch, enjoying the free coffee and listening to the live performance. As Harbaugh stated, “Free coffee and snacks seem to always get the most attendance.” Once again, Nelly’s Echo proved to be a success amongst the crowd of students. Laughter, applause and even singing were heard in the room, as the artists provided a comfortable environment in the space. The artists’ guitar playing, melodic singing alongside jokes created a relaxing and fun environment for those looking for an escape during the mid-week rush. Harbaugh spoke on the spontaneity of the artist.  “Nelly’s Echo is somebody that can just see something going on in the crowd as he’s playing and kind of just incorporate it into whatever he is performing.” Harbaugh said. The artists would point out those waiting in line for food, those who were on their phones and even took the time to ask if the sushi on campus was worth trying, all while not missing a single strum on his guitar.         Nelly’s Echo was one of the performers being invited to Waynesburg’s campus this semester.