Aztec Music Group & Friends held an acoustic night event in collaboration with Dance Marathon on Dec. 6 in the Montezuma Hall Theatre.
The night featured Hannah Geller performing “Song for No One,” Thannie Graff’s cover of “Dock Of The Bay” by Sara Bareilles, Jacob Matro’s “Tread Lightly” and other AMG artists.
Katie Thomas, vice president of AMG and junior music business major, spoke about how this AMG acoustic night encouraged SDSU’s vocalists and singer-songwriters by giving them the opportunity to perform covers or original pieces in front of other musicians and friends.
“If you love music and are interested in the music business, you should come to AMG and get involved,” Thomas said. “Even if you don’t like music, Aztec Music Group can give a new support system of friendly people who want to avoid frat culture.”
Thomas also talked about the cause for the fundraiser and how AMG wanted to work with Dance Marathon and help raise money in any way they could.
Dance Marathon at SDSU raises money for Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego. Since the inaugural event in 2015, they’ve raised $1.9 million for San Diego’s sick and injured youths, mostly $1 at a time, according to the Dance Marathon website.
Executive Director of Dance Marathon, Olivia Hansen, a senior kinesiology major and Mikayla Chelios, a senior ISCORP major, were fundraising and tabling for Dance Marathon at the AMG event.
Hansen and Chelios emphasized all the money raised goes to buy new medical equipment, make a child’s hospital stay more fun and pay for research grants and educational programs.
AMG Vice President of Marketing, Leila Zonoobi, a senior business marketing major, spoke about putting on the acoustic night and how important it is to have a passion for music and share that with others.
“We wanted to broaden our horizons, we didn’t just want to just have concerts with full bands but also ones with just singers and musicians,” Zonoobi said.
Zonoobi ended the 20-song show with her own rendition of Dominic Fike’s “Three Nights,” which got a lot of pop from the crowd.
Zonoobi also said that those connected with AMG prioritize working in the local music industry as an artist or supporting the music industry on and around campus.
Vice President of Finance Jaime Martinez, a junior economics major, performed three songs on acoustic guitar, including “Blue Eyes” by SDSU singer-songwriter Avery Cochrane, “If the Sun” by Tristen Zett, and with Christine Kate on a cover of Lauren Spencer Smith’s “Fingers Crossed.”
“Tonight’s atmosphere was a great vibe,” Martinez said. “Everyone in the crowd or on the E-board GroupMe chat was saying, ‘Oh my god, this performer is amazing, we need to get them singing more.’”
For information on upcoming AMG events and performers, visit @aztecmusicgroup on Instagram. To learn more about ways to support Dance Marathon, go to @dmatsdsu on Instagram.
