Alan Walker – UP & UP Festival, San Jose State University
- Jeff Virgen
- Nov 5, 2017
- 5 min read
October 26, 2017 was a night many in the San Jose area will not soon forget, as world class DJ Alan Walker made his way to the City National Civic building and delivered a high energy, sing-along frenzy of a set. The line for the event was down the block before the event even began, and crazed fans continued to pour through the front doors during the entirety of the concert.
San Jose State University students showed up in full force ready to party the night way, many of them donning apparel covered in the Universities’ colors and logos, while others wore clothing showing off their love and respect for the nights headliner, Alan Walker. The iconic mask worn by Walker was seen through out the arena on many dedicated fans.
The night was kicked off with energetic sets from DJ Rayn and the legendary DJ ST. John. The tone for the night was set early, and the crowd was raging through and through with each new track that blasted through the speakers.
Moments before Alan Walker hit the stage, we had a chance to speak with the San Jose Students that made the event possible, Avnish Patel, David Nguyen, and Bobby Martin:
Bobby Martin (Left), David Nguyen (Center), Avnish Patel (Right)
Bobby Martin & David Nguyen: Tell us a little bit about your backgrounds? What are you going to school for? Any past concert experience?
Bobby: I transferred to SJSU a little over a year ago from Sacramento to pursue my goals in getting into the music industry. I have attended countless EDM festivals and concerts and have done photography for some local event around town.
David: Born and raised in the city of San Jose. Currently, I am going to school for recreational therapy which is totally out of the norm. In terms of concert experience, I have shot many events for artists such as ODESZA, Audien, The Chainsmokers, and many more.
What did you guys do to help promote the show and win the contest?
Bobby: The main thing we did was maximized our time on social media creating a foundation through Facebook, created hype videos, and posted flyers all around SJSU.
David: I agree with everything from what Bobby said. Honestly, create a strategic plan months ahead and know your audience!
Can you tell us a bit about Up & Up Festival and how you got involved with them for this show? How was it working with them?
Bobby: Working with the Up & Up was an experience within itself. Our managers who looked over us showed us nothing but support! Thank you Steven and Stephen!
David: Up & Up Festival is the first ever-fan sourced music festival in which colleges compete to win and produce their own event featuring a national headlining artist. Working with the Up & Up Festival has been a blast and they were really supportive of us as they knew there was potential in San Jose.
How did the 3 of you guys all meet, what made them want to do this?
Bobby: Avnish was the one that brought the 3 of us together. We all have a strong passion to break into the music industry.
David: I concur with what Bobby said. Honestly, it’s just the drive and passion towards music that we wanted to make this event happen.
Is this the first show you and your team have put together?
Yes
How does it feel to have this big of a show caliber under your belt?
Bobby: We have never been more motivated to be something in the music industry.
David: Speechless and humbling that my community came to this show.
What was the biggest obstacle to get this show here?
Bobby & David: Getting people to understand the point of the contest. It was hard to convince people to purchase tickets without a set date and venue, but we overcame it and won the contest 1st place!
What if your guys next big goal after this show?
Bobby: Keep pursuing our goals of seeking a career in the music industry and hopefully become a part of the Up and Up Festival team.
David: Create opportunities in the Bay Area for individuals who are passionate towards music, building a artist MGMT/PR company, along with creating a block party in San Jose.
Are you big fans of Alan Walker?
Bobby & David: Of course!
What other artists would they like to bring to San Jose?
David: In terms of artist, we are not sure yet but possibly an artist/producer that starts with K and ends with an O.
Did you enjoy the whole experience of promoting the show and would you do it again?
Bobby: This was an amazing experience and would most definitely do this again. This experience gave me an insight on what I want to do with my future which is event coordinating for music festivals and concerts
David: Yes to both questions. Hopefully this does become an annual event here in San Jose, since lots of people missed out on it!
Is there anyone else you would like to thank for making it this incredible show possible?
Bobby: I would like to thank our bosses, Steven Ljubicic and Stephen Glazer for providing us with this opportunity. I would like to also thank the team, Avnish and David because this could have not been possible without them. Last but not least, I would like to thank everyone who supported us by purchasing tickets with no venue or date at all!
David: I want to thank you for all my friends and family members for showing me that anything is possible if you put your mind into something. I also would like to thank my team, Avnish and Bobby for their hard work. Without the strong community for pre-purchasing tickets, this event would not have been possible. We’re all on the #UpandUp.
The lights dimmed and the music stopped around 10:00PM, and it was time for Alan to hit the stage. The Alan Walker signature logo appeared on the screen soon there after, with an enormous eruption from the crowd.
Walker began his set with a tease of his most famous track “fade”, which every member of the audience quickly responded and began singing along to. His set continued with a roller-coaster of incredible, high energy tracks and amazing visuals, all of which left the crowding begging for more once his set had come to a conclusion.
After the show, Alan Walker took a moment to speak with us before he headed out to Canada for another show, and then would return back to San Bernadino for Insomniac’s Escape: Psycho Circus later that weekend.
Alan Walkers newest track, “All Falls Down”, ft. Noah Cyrus and Digital Farm Animals is available now on all of your favorite music platforms, Spotify, itunes, soundcloud, and Tidal. To see where he is playing next, visit his website at www.alanwalker.no. Follow Alan on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
We would like to thank Alan Walker, Monster Energy Drink, the UP & UP Festival, and San Jose State University students Avnish Patel, David Nguyen, and Bobby Martin for an amazing show! We’ll see you all again soon!
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