Emei, an alt-pop artist from LA, returned to Boston in March on her “RABBITHOLE” tour. A Chinese-American musician with a growing following, Emei is no stranger to Wellesley College — she performed at the Chinese Student Association’s Culture Show in Spring 2023. However, as my friends asked “What is Emei?” to my plans to see her show, she seems to be still under the radar to many, despite her past string of viral singles.

When she was just 15, she competed on “Chinese Idol,” a Chinese reality/singing competition show, later releasing her first songs in 2021. These songs went viral on TikTok, launching her music career. Since then, she has released three EPs, her latest being “Rabbithole.” Her songs range from electropop earworms to pop-rock headbangers to acoustic ballads. Emei’s music covers a wide range of topics beyond the typical romance-related pop anthems, speaking to friends, family and her personal growth and struggles with anxiety, stress and ADHD. 

For her VIP experience, Emei performed a short acoustic set featuring two of my favorite songs, one of them being her song “Dear Emily.” During her following Q&A and fan meet-up, I noticed that many attendees were decked out in white, black and red –– the main color themes for Emei’s tour. After the VIP experience, the crowd grew exponentially for her sold-out show. 

After watching openers Ashley Mehta and Haiden Henderson, the stage went dark as red lights slowly flashed and illuminated the stage. Emei was here. She opened the show with her viral hit, “Love Me Not,” a catchy pop-rock hit about overthinking. She followed with non-stop jumping songs like “Cynical,” “Irresponsible,” “Crazy Stupid Love,” and “That Girl.” 

During a set filled with fan surprises (such as launching merch into the crowd) Emei performed a host of newly-released songs including “Rabbithole” and “9 Lives” –– two tracks which are on opposite ends of the energy spectrum, but encompass the range of sounds she brings to her discography. 

Emei’s set concluded with her anxious, fun and vibey hit “Scatterbrain,” the title track from her previous album which characterizes her personal experience living with ADHD. However, having had access to the VIP setlist before the show, I knew the show wasn’t over without an encore. Returning to perform “711” –– a favorite of mine which questions Emei’s anxieties and emotions, Emei brought the show to a compelling end. 

After bearing witness to Emei’s energy and song lyrics live, it became clear how she utilizes music to tackle others’ perceptions of her. She unabashedly makes fun of what others may think; and as a Chinese American woman, she brings visibility to living with ADHD in a fun and digestible manner. Commonly seen as a “white boy disorder” and misunderstood in Chinese American women, ADHD can be a contentious topic –– especially when brought to the spheres of arts and music. However, Emei turns her internal monologue into fun and catchy music which can help listeners understand their own inner selves. A bold, colorful and stylish artist, Emei is a stand-out, and certainly one to watch out for.

Contact the editors responsible for this story: Ivy Buck, Nita Kelly

Last month, Rivera was named one of three recipients of the inaugural Wagner Arts Fellowship, a new initiative recognizing socially engaged visual artists in Greater Boston. She joins visual activist and public historian L’Merchie Frazier and painter-sculptor Wen-ti Tsen in receiving the award, which includes a $75,000 unrestricted grant and access to supplemental professional development services such as financial planning, career consulting and legal support. Recipients are nominated anonymously by their peers, underscoring the respect and recognition they have earned among the artistic community. 

Rivera, who started teaching at Wellesley 16 years ago, highlighted how this unique opportunity can be transformational for an artist. “I think the most important thing about this fellowship is how it’s being done, also putting you in touch with professional consultants to make a sustainable practice. I’m discovering aspects of being an artist that I didn’t even know after being an artist for so many years.”

Drawing heavily from her upbringing in Chile and immigration experience to America, Rivera’s work explores themes of migration, displacement and belonging. 

“I started thinking of my awareness of art and culture. How was it built?” Rivera explained, “And it was built through a lot of information brought from the West, through colonization, mixing with what’s already there. And that was sort of like the thing that was creating my identity.” 

Distance from the influences constituting her identity allowed her to reflect on their scale, in turn appearing in her artwork. 

“I started to think about cultural migration from before the Spaniards arrived. In the continent we had influence from the Inca Empire and Mapuche people — all of these things created clashes and mixed different types of formations of identity. And then the influence of colonial, religious and Catholic imagery. So being [in Boston], I started looking at those influences and types of movements from a distance, and I started thinking about all of those moments at a global scale, and became really interested in displacement, migration and ideas of belonging and experiences of belonging, too.”

In an interview with The Wellesley News, Abigail Satinsky, Program Officer and Curator of Arts and Culture at the Wagner Foundation, spoke to what success looks like for the inaugural fellowship. To Satinsky, it’s about community and long-term impact: “[I hope] Boston is known for a place that supports its artists, and that when people come to come through town they see that there’s an active civic discourse that involves artists that are part of the conversation. And so in doing this, we hope to establish, you know, as an annual program that will continue into the future, that there will be more and more artists that see themselves as part of this cohort, that feel like that. This is a place that they can stay.”

The fellowship will culminate with the artists presenting their work at the MassArt Art Museum as part of an exhibition titled “GENERATIONS,” organized by the Wagner Foundation to coincide with the launch of the 2025 Boston Public Art Triennial, an ambitious citywide showcase of public art commissions. Running from May 22 to November 30, “GENERATIONS” will offer Boston residents the chance to engage with the fellows’ socially engaged pieces.

As for what to expect from Rivera? For her, support received from the Wagner Foundation has been a “big incentive to keep working and also expand the work outside of the studio.” Besides showing some other pieces that are relatively recent, she will be creating a completely new piece for the “GENERATIONS” exhibition. Here at Wellesley, we certainly cannot wait to see what’s in store.

For the Wellesley student spending summer back in their childhood bedroom:

When you’re lying in your twin bed, staring at the ceiling and wondering why 15-year-old  you decided that was a good color to paint a wall, play Lorde’s new single “What Was That ––using your headphones of course, other people live in this house and your brother is studying for the SATs. As a TikTok I once reposted said, “Lorde is like Nanny McPhee, never showing up when you WANT her but showing up when you NEED her.”

For the Wellesley student determined to have a summer fling:

Play “The Glamorous Life” by Sheila E. It’s fun! It was written by Prince! She’s a drummer! The song is nine minutes long and is major for every single second. Play it while doing your makeup, while driving at exactly the speed limit–for legal reasons–or while riding the subway and being mysterious. Everyone wants you. The person you want definitely wants you. And, who knows? You might just find yourself falling in love.

For the Wellesley student getting beaten down by tariffs:

Eggs are four billion U.S. dollars and the minimum wage in your home state is still the exact same. Get in your car and play Gang of Four’s “Natural’s Not In It.” Or not. Gas is really expensive. What to do for pleasure? This song is featured in Sofia Coppola’s “Marie Antoinette” and if we have to be living in an ancién regime-coded era, it might as well be directed by the very best Coppola.

For the Wellesley student who didn’t get into any summer internships:

Play “Fire with Fire” by AlicebanD. You’re trying to find a purpose in your life right now and so is she. There is somebody else who’s clearly to blame, but is it your professors, politicians, or parents? Who knows? Spend your time dreaming and imagining hypothetical scenarios with your friend who lives way too far away.

For the Wellesley student replacing their smartphone with a flip phone:

Have you told your friends that you’re deleting Instagram again? Did you send a reel 24 hours later? If so, this summer it might be time to reconnect with nature. Hear a child’s laugh. Watch the sunset from a 7/11 parking lot as you plan your big move to Montana. Since you won’t have Spotify, go buy Jim Croce’s “I Got A Name” record on vinyl. Plus, whenever you eventually succumb to social media temptations you can post a picture of said vinyl and appear #rustic and cultured to your followers. 

For the Wellesley student upset with the government:

Did you finally block Elon on X? Have you started googling citizenship and visa requirements for Nordic countries? Are you actively avoiding interacting with anyone from Babson? Listen to “Money Game, Pt. 2” by Ren. Yes, he is British and this song is from COVID-19, but the “unprecedented times” are still going on.

For the Wellesley student traveling abroad this summer:

I hate you. I want to trade lives. I have no interest in sharing music recommendations with you because you already have everything. In any case, play “Free Man in Paris” by Joni Mitchell. Or, at the very least, use it as the score to your Instagram post that I will be hate viewing. A little on the nose? Sure. But so is spending the summer in Europe. And you’re unfettered and alive.

Ivy Buck: How did the idea to make HARK! come about? 

Akasha Brahmbhatt: [In the winter] we all registered for Devising Theatre (THST 355), and we [the registered students] went in with the understanding that whatever came out of it would be the mainstage production. THST 355 has an open-ended schedule; we knew we would have show dates in April, and we knew the theme would be the environment or climate change, and we knew we would be the people to write, perform and design the play. But we didn’t know exactly what “HARK!” would look like. We started with various assignments and skits that we would write and eventually perform –– sometimes they would be only a few minutes long, sometimes it would be a movement piece [or] sometimes it would be a game.

Buck: What was the experience like of creating a show with all ages in mind? 

AB: This was something I had never done before, but it was really interesting because I got to tap into my inner child and remember the performances that I enjoyed as a kid, but most importantly decide what messages we wanted to send out into the world––especially in this day and age. There was a lot of pressure, but we did some workshops with the WCCC (Wellesley Community Children’s Center) and Wellesley Elementary School. 

Buck: Yes! I heard you got to perform in a school… 

AB: Yeah! We workshopped some of our pieces [for “HARK!”] there, and it was very formative; the kids were super responsive to what we had. We developed a song that framed the show, with the message “do I want to go outside?” and “what can I explore outside?” More of a question, than a statement, so it would hopefully spark some inspiration [amongst the kids.]

Buck: As an actor who has had previous experience doing scenic design for WCT, how did you envision this for “HARK”? 

AB: I got my inspiration from the Kennedy Center’s American College Theatre Festival in January. Actually…I was looking around the other students’ props and set poster boards, and one person’s props were made entirely out of cardboard. I was really inspired by that and brought the idea back to Wellesley. As we were developing the show, I thought it would be really cool to use recycled materials, and try to build a world as we build our show together. We got a bunch of cardboard from the dumpster and from each others’ delivered packages, and a lot of our set ended up being constructed from that cardboard. Throughout the process, when we were developing a narrative around a tree and rebuilding something as a community, we thought about rebuilding a tree in the center of our stage. We constructed boxes [to eventually form the tree] and as the show progresses, our props fill these boxes to create a “patchwork quilt” situation at the end. 

Buck: As you approach graduation, how do you think this experience of acting, producing and set-designing all at once will serve your future interests? 

AB: As someone who would love to have a career doing something creative, this has been a more valuable experience to conclude my Wellesley College Theatre education than a traditional scripted play, because I got to tap into all of my [theatrical] training. To create something from scratch is really incredible, it was a feeling I will take with me no matter what career I have or what I do after Wellesley. It’s been awesome to see all of these skills come together to create something out of nothing, with primarily a six-person team. It’s really inspiring! 

Buck: Describe “HARK” in five words or less…

AB: Hilarious. Adventure. Really. Killer. Exclamation point!

“A Minecraft Movie” introduces us to a ragtag group of four as they stumble into the animated world of Minecraft, where they meet Steve –– the original avatar of the game, played by Jack Black. An opening scene reveals how Steve travelled into the video game world years prior: a piglin witch from the Nether (a hell-like dimension) wanted the crystals they had used to enter the world, hoping to channel their power to wipe out all creativity. The gang learns about the new world with lots of exposition and explanation from Steve, but are forced to split up when piglins attack the village. While the guys go on a harrowing and homoerotic adventure to gather the missing piece to bring them home, the girls fail to pass the “Bechdel Test.” By the end of the film, the group reconnects before finally heading home, defeating their enemies in a way only partially accurate to game mechanics.

The most important element of the movie was the addition of a subplot in which a Minecraft villager enters a portal into the “regular” world, proceeds to get hit by a car and goes on a date with Jennifer Coolidge. Obviously. 

Is the movie good? No. However, it clearly shows a lot of love for the game and its community, featuring iconic Minecraft mechanics, from redstone lava machines to creeper farms. The movie celebrates Minecraft fans with appearances by famous gamer content creators Aphmau, DanTDM, LDShadowlady and Mumbo Jumbo, as well as a tribute to Technoblade –– a beloved Minecraft YouTuber who passed away in 2022. 

However, the contrast between the movie’s genuine love for the game, and the attempt to capture children as a clear target audience, created confusion. Minecraft is iconic for being a sandbox game, where each player can explore the never-ending world and build or destroy whatever they desire. Unfortunately, this doesn’t mesh well with a movie plot which unironically uses the words “chungus” and “unalive,” much less one in which the villain’s backstory centers around losing “Nether’s Got Talent.” “A Minecraft Movie” is certainly a cultural moment, but it’s hard to say if this movie adds anything of substance to the already-beloved game.

What are your respective roles when it comes to writing and recording music?

Jack: “We do work very closely together when we’re writing songs, but we have very different processes and roles within the band. Charlie writes all of the music; I don’t really know any instruments or play anything. I write all of the lyrics, and most of the melodies. But the way we work is not separate. When we’re sitting down to write a song, he’ll be playing a guitar riff, I’ll be coming up with melodies. But he’ll also throw out melodies and I’ll throw out ideas for guitar even though I can’t really speak in that language. It’s a very collaborative process.”

You referred to writing music as a language — do you think this is a universal language or something that the two of you have honed together as you’ve tapped into this relationship?

Jack: “My perspective is that any other guitarist I would work with would think I’m crazy if I tried to communicate with them. I kind of tell Charlie to make things sound more like whatever vague idea I have in my head. Like, make it sound ‘brighter’ or make it sound more like a certain color or ‘bigger’ or ‘wider.’ Words that aren’t exactly the best descriptors, and yet Charlie tends to get my drift.”

Charlie: “Yeah, we’ve gotten very good at communicating with each other, and I’d say especially now that we’re in college and we have such limited time together, we’ve gotten very efficient at describing the sounds and visions that we share.”

What would you say is the thesis, the main message of this album?

Jack: “It’s an album that I poured a lot of myself and my ideas and my stories into. When we first started writing it, I think Charlie and I were very focused on writing a coming-of-age album, if you will. We were focused on that Bruce Springsteen “Born to Run” energy — escaping your hometown, growing out of your parents’ house, becoming your own person… But I also think that now that I look at it as a complete picture, I can say that it’s less about leaving a place or childhood behind, and more about leaving a version of yourself behind, and becoming happy and comfortable and proud of the new version of yourself. I guess it speaks to something larger — I hope it does.”

In terms of lyrical content, how much of it would you say is storytelling or real experiences or some combination of the two?

Jack: “I think for me, with lyricism — I would argue with any art form — there has to be a little of yourself, a little of the artist embedded in it. But I don’t think these [songs] are entirely based on real life. Sometimes I go back and listen to a song and I think to myself, ‘did I really feel like that, or is that an exaggeration of an exaggeration that has been buried by time and nostalgia and all those things?’… with a lot of [the songs], there are kernels of truth in them, but it is very much not based entirely on experiences I had. I just like telling stories. I like expanding on a single thought and saying, ‘what could that be if it was a six-minute song?’”

My favorite song on the album was “Riverbend”. It felt like the centerpiece of the album, and is notably the longest song at 11 minutes. Can you speak to the process of creating this song?

Jack: “Riverbend” is the most honest [song]…Riverbend really formed over the course of three months or so … We hit the ground running, and then every single line or riff or melody after that was just laborious. It really did feel like dragging through the mud because we cared about it. We knew we wanted to create something bigger than any of the other songs, so we set out with that goal. It really only took shape within two weeks or so, where we had been stagnant for a long time, and all of the sudden the song just came to life, lyrically for me. It felt like it clicked into place and the lyrics kind of fell out.”

Charlie: “I think pretty early on in the process we started referring to the song as ‘11 Minute’ or ‘9 Minute Song’, far before we had nine or eleven minutes worth of material. But I think since we came up with the outro part, we had this idea of this grand, long masterpiece to be on the album. This vision was there from the start.”

Now that you’ve finished this album, do you have a vision of what the future looks like for you guys?

Jack: “I can say Charlie and I are both very proud of the album and happy to have it out there. We wanna just sit with it for a minute and let people enjoy it. You know, our many adoring fans … But at the same time, we are kind of sick of talking about these nine songs, and we are itching to play something new and to create stuff and put out new material. The goal would be to not take as long on the next [album]. As far as what we wanna do with it, I think expanding musically is a big thing … It’s just about creating and creating and not looking back”

Charlie: “We’re just really looking forward to creating and doing something new with our sound. I can’t wait to see what it turns into.”

Contact the editor responsible for this story: Norah Catlin

The duo began their performance with the first track on their EP, titled “Cómo Fue.” Zenón began the piece with a saxophone solo that demonstrated his dulcet tone and wide range of dynamics, while Perdomo joined on the piano. It’s clear Zenón possesses phenomenal control over his instrument, employing highly advanced scalar manipulation — the kind that elicits admiration from instrumentalists and untrained onlookers alike. The two performers complement each other extremely well, together having established a harmonious relationship that simultaneously showcases individual talents and their shared, unique blend. Perdomo played the piano with such grace, lightly grazing the keys with dexterity, but maintaining a strong command over them. The two musicians have mastered the opposing ends of their dynamic ranges, even making seamless transitions from pianissimo to fortissimo, very soft and very loud dynamic markings. The piece left me in awe and with a single question: how creative of a mind does it take to generate so many melodic ideas from one scale?

Zenón and Perdomo moved onto a medley of songs, which of course continued the night’s theme of unimaginably creative composition. Although my favorite aspect of Zenón’s playing is his ability to gracefully prance through scales, all the while ensuring each note works perfectly, he also excels at sustaining notes. This skill may sound simple, but its employment had, in fact, caused me to look up from my notepad several times in pure astonishment. Perdomo and Zenón both integrated runs into their melodic ideas perfectly: never showy or self-indulgent, but always supplemental to the art, supplying any given portion of a piece exactly what the audience didn’t know it needed. Additionally, it’s worth noting that neither musician had any sheet music in front of them. Still, both played with such confidence and expertise that, having never heard their music before, I had no way of knowing what was being played as written or completely improvised. 

The artists played another assortment of pieces that was tender, very poignant, and just screamed “soul.” At risk of sounding like I’ve seen “La La Land” too many times, this is the kind of music that makes you appreciate jazz more. Zenón and Perdomo seemed to be in musical conversation with each other. Perdomo casually spanned half of the piano in approximately two beats and Zenón played with the tonguing and articulation every saxophonist dreams of (No, really, I will be booking a practice room after this). During “En La Soledad,” a dreamy, whirring piano introduction led to a controlled chaos in the middle portion of the piece. By the conclusion of the piece, urgency gave way to tranquility, all while maintaining the same passion that defined the night. The concert ended with “Silencio,” a groovy piece with a lively, fanciful feel and a funky time signature — boy, did this piece make me wish I paid more attention in MUS 220!

In between pieces, Zenón thanked the audience for “supporting live music,” and I couldn’t agree more. These kinds of concerts are what keeps music alive, as it’s not just notes on a page, or a song downloaded to a phone, but an experience with palpable energy shared among everyone in the room. Being able to visually see the music flowing through artists is rare, but I can say without a doubt that I saw it in Miguel Zenón and Luis Perdomo.

A surprise to many who may know him only from television, Keery’s music career did not start with ‘becoming’ Djo, or even as an actor on Netflix. He was originally the guitarist for the “Post Animal” rock band from 2014 to 2019, but decided to leave the band due to his acting commitments with “Stranger Things.” Keery continued his career as a solo indie rock artist while acting. He released his first official album, “Twenty Twenty” (2019) featuring 12 songs, including “Chateau (Feel Alright),” which drew many of his current fans into what is often referred to as ‘retro psychedelia meets modern indie rock.’ His songs often explore the themes of personal transformation and reflections on identity, and have been described by reviewers as a “nostalgic and retro synth-pop style that transports you into another realm of funk.” His newest releases explore similar themes but his style has transitioned more upbeat compared to “Tentpole Shangrila” and “Roddy” from his “Twenty Twenty” album. Although it might sound different from his previous albums, his music still has a retro charm. 

During the release of his debut album, Keery performed six concerts, many of which occurred during music festivals, including Lollapalooza and the Boston Callings Festival. Djo reappeared at the end of January 2025 for a surprise show in New York City, where he teased his newest release, “Basic Being Basic” from the Crux album, as well as several other songs from “Decide” and “Twenty Twenty” albums.

Djo’s “The Back on You” World Tour started on Feb. 6 in Auckland, New Zealand, and will end in Amsterdam in June after a North American loop. He will perform in Boston on May 2 with his old bandmates from “Post Animal,” who will open the show at Roadrunner. Fans should expect an exciting mix of his older music and some songs from his newest album. Although Djo’s presale and general admission tickets are sold out, resale tickets are still available for a relatively reasonable price.

Contact the editors responsible for this story: Ivy Buck, Anabelle Meyers

“The White Lotus” is one of HBO’s biggest hits and Emmy nomination-earners, and after originally being greenlit for a miniseries run in 2020, it blossomed into a multi-season anthology series. Self-described as a “black comedy drama,” “The White Lotus” packs each seasons’ respective figures into the resort at the chosen vacation destination, and lets them run wild. Over the years, we’ve seen under-the-counter drug deals in Hawaii, Jennifer Coolidge falling overboard in Italy (“these gays, they’re trying to murder me!”) and apparently now, a weed-addled Rick, played by Walton Goggins, setting a plethora of venomous snakes loose in Thailand. 

Each episode escalates the rising tension between wealthy guests at the White Lotus resorts. As the story progresses, we learn that each “group” of guests has more in common with each other than meets the eye, and eventually we become privy to dark secrets, class inequality and immorality abounds. However, “The White Lotus” adopts an abnormally slow pace for a show averaging only eight episodes per season. This is its greatest skill, and also its greatest source of criticism from fans and reviewers alike. 

If what I saw on X in the weeks since the third season’s premiere of “The White Lotus” is anything to go by, fans are either bored with the creeping pace of the season so far, or frustrated with said bored people for not understanding how the show “works.” “Nothing happened this episode,” read a post in response to the newly-released third episode. “Average White Lotus episode,” read another. “Each character has their own conflicts and we’re seeing this develop,” responded someone else. “What are [you] expecting? This is the standard.” 

Television with sharp social commentary often produces such dividing lines; those eager to critically dissect each and every moment seethe at those who express their emotional reactions at face value. In the case of “The White Lotus,” both are valid: the show exists to absorb the viewer in its universe, and also push them to analyze what they’re seeing. The writing is so meticulously crafted that viewers often receive very little “action” to dissect, and analysis drifts to the minute details: a glance between two characters, a moment’s conversation, or telling body language. Will Belinda connect Greg to the death of his ex-wife, Tanya? Will Laurie confront Kate over her vote for Trump? Does Rick secretly despise Chelsea? (Don’t worry about not knowing each character. Each of them embodies an archetype of someone we probably know in our own lives, anyway). 

It takes far more than an episode –– maybe even an entire season –– to get an answer to any of these questions, and that is the ultimate test of “The White Lotus:” to see if we have the attention span to stick around. In an age where short-form TikTok content dominates attention spans and splices them in half, “The White Lotus” succeeds on its long-form subtlety, forcing viewers to pay attention if they want any sense of what’s going on. The pace may drag, but it also serves to build eerie anticipation –– for you, and for each character whose turning point lies just out of reach. 

Contact the editors responsible for this article: Norah Catlin, Anabelle Meyers 

disrupting the fragile balance of this garden

metastasizing over roots and flowers

disquieting the lives well-led

she demands i uproot them

winnow out the unworthy

expel them from the earth

a compulsory task

she doesn’t know their secret

(or maybe she doesn’t care)

but i know–

i know every single seed

contains multitudes

golden threads 

braided across time–

a refrain of past lives

hidden treasure

some childish hope

disguised beneath

gentle armor

a wish released and sold

the bees agree!

flashes of gold

zipping toward the weeds

the very same

parts of a whole

i sit amongst my weeds

listen

for the whispers

of a thousand wishes

promised on the wind